Alfred Nile Gorringe passed away on May 10th, 2010. The funeral took place in Burley, Idaho and he was buried at the Oakley, Idaho cemetery. I feel that it is very important to keep a record of the things I know about Grandpa and the things I learned at his funeral.
My memory of Grandpa:
Growing up I remember the fun trips our family would take to Burley to visit. Other than when he went to church, Grandpa always wore overalls. I remember him as being an extremely talented wood carver and very hard worker who was always keeping up his garden. My favorite memory of Grandpa was when I was pretty young and we went to church together up in Burley; the sacrament meeting went a little long so Grandpa showed me and Mikey the “quickest way out of there”.
One of the next best memories I have of Grandpa is when me and my friend Chris Fong took a trip to Idaho a few years ago to see one of Chris’s friends get married in Twin Falls. We decided to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Because I grew up in Utah, this was one of the only times I went to see my Grandpa without the rest of my family. This was a very neat experience that I will always remember because both Grandma and Grandpa were so happy to see me and they both gave me their full attention. As I sat and chatted with them I don’t remember what we talked about but I do remember feeling their sincere love and genuine interest that they had towards me. After chatting a while Grandpa showed me the progress that he had made on his garden; he then gave me and Chris a demonstration of how he tilled the soil. I remember Chris quickly asking me how old he was. He then showed me his latest carvings and gave us a box of his famous carved mice. I left that day feeling so grateful that I went and visited and spent time with Grandpa.
Funeral:
Alfred Nile Gorringe of Burley, funeral at 1 p.m. today at the Burley LDS West Stake Center, 2420 Parke Ave.; visitation from noon to 12:45 p.m. today at the church (Rasmussen Funeral Home in Burley).
Life sketch:
BURLEY - Alfred Nile Gorringe, age 96, passed away Monday, May 10, 2010, at Warren House in Burley.
He was born Dec. 12, 1913, in Marion, Idaho, to Alfred Gorringe and Caroline Mehetable McBride. He grew up in Marion and Oakley. He married his sweetheart, Lila Rachel Hale, on May 17, 1939, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. He and Rachel had many happy memories while living in Mill Canyon, Nev.; Oakley, Albion and finally Burley, where they settled and raised their family.
Nile graduated from Oakley High School and, last May, was honored as Oakley High School's oldest living graduate. He and Mom loved Oakley. After high school, he attended Albion State Normal School, where he graduated as a teacher. To Nile, there was no greater school in the world. His first teaching job was in a one-room school in Mill Canyon, Nev. He also taught school in Springdale, Burley and Declo. Most of his teaching career was spent teaching wood shop at the old Burley Junior High School. He had a lot of fun with his colleagues there. After the junior high burned down, he began teaching at Declo High School, from which he retired in 1979. He found great joy in his teaching, especially the last few years he spent in Declo.
Nile had many hobbies and always encouraged his students and children to find a hobby that they could enjoy. He spent many years whittling and was well known in Cassia County for his wooden caricatures. He loved carving and attended many craft shows where he gave away thousands of his wooden mice. He was a master gardener and spent his summers growing and harvesting lots of fruits and vegetables. He spent many hours in his raspberry patch and loved to share his produce with his family, neighbors and friends. He also loved fishing, hunting and just spending time in the mountains. He collected rocks, wagon wheels and antiques. He taught himself to play the organ and also sang for many years with the Oakley Men's Chorus. Most people didn't know about his hobby of journal writing. He has written several volumes with detailed information of his upbringing, antics and strong beliefs. These writings have become very dear to his posterity. He liked to feed stray cats and the grandkids wondered why all of his cats were named "Tom." He was very independent and insisted on staying in his own home until January of this year, when he moved to the Warren House. He loved his "waitresses" there.
Nile was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in the High Priests group in various callings. He lost the love of his life, Rachel, Aug. 18, 2008, and life was never quite the same without her. She was his biggest fan. Nile and Rachel served in the Boise LDS Temple for 14 years, where they made many new, wonderful friends.
During World War II, he served in the Anti-Aircraft Division of the U.S. Army. He was a member of the Elks and Lions Clubs for many years, and was on the Albion Normal School Alumni Committee until the time of his passing.
Nile is survived by his children, David Hale (Marilyn) of Draper, Utah, Nylene Budge (Steve) of Orem, Utah, Kaye Shelley (Dennis) of Highland, Utah, Mary Jo Carlile (Stephen), Lorna Coombs (Carl) all of West Valley City, Utah and Fred Gorringe (Darla) of Caldwell; 27 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rachel; his parents; his brother, Kermit Gorringe; sister, Hilma Gorringe Butler; two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The family would like to express a special thanks to the staffs of Warren House, Intermountain Hospice and Dr. Kevin Owens for the loving care they gave our dad.
The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, May 17, at the Burley LDS West Stake Center, 2420 Parke Ave., with Bishop S. Matthew Cook officiating. Burial will be in the Oakley Cemetery, with military rites provided by the Mini-Cassia Veterans and Auxiliary. Friends may call from 6 until 8 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Rasmussen Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St. in Burley, and from noon until 12:45 p.m. Monday at the church.
Mom’s talk at the funeral:
I feel honored to stand here and speak at the funeral of my Dad, who for 96 years lived a very full, and for the most part, healthy life.
My brothers and sisters, Dave, Nylene, Kaye, Mary Jo, Fred and I, along with our spouses, would like to thank everyone for your kindnesses – not only his doctors, therapists, and all those who cared for him in the past few months, but also those who have touched his life and helped form his character throughout the years.
-his faithful home teachers
-his colleagues- he had a lot of fun with his fellow teachers
-neighbors – Gary & Emma, Lynn Poulton
-ward members – and previous ward members who would stop by
-friends – many who continued to visit at the Warren House
-teachers - all of his school teachers have passed away, but he had S.S. & Priesthood teachers
-his students
- his relatives
- Those who called often
- Those who wrote to him
I thank his parents who taught him discipline and a strong work ethic – which he and Mom passed on to their own family.
It is very difficult to only take only a few minutes to talk about 96 years of life. He saw and learned so much in his lifetime.
After mom passed away, we wanted him to come and live with us in Utah, but he was determined to stay in his own home. Dad, your dad didn’t want to come live with us, but he did, to which he answered, “That was different.” I asked, “How was it different Dad.” To that he just laughed and said, “I couldn’t leave Burley. It’s my home.” We worried and fretted, but we honored his request. After a few months we were able to convince him to go eat his meals at the Warren House. Life without Mom was quite discouraging, but as time passed he said, “I believe I’ll do one more garden,” and that is just what he did.
He was a man of many, many talents. If he needed something and didn’t have it, he would figure out how to make it out of what he did have. Fred mentioned many of his talents in his life sketch. I remember one year after I was married and had my first 2 children, we came to visit for Christmas. I don’t know what possessed us, but we had bought the kids harmonicas which they insisted on bringing to Grandpa’s & Grandma’s house. They were making a lot of noise with them when Dad said to one of them, “Give me that thing.” I have to admit that I wondered if he was going to nail it to the wall like did with all the squirt guns and yo-yos at the Jr. High! He didn’t really like a lot of noise around the house. My jaw nearly hit the floor when he grabbed the harmonica and began to play song after song. I had no idea that he could play the harmonica. He also loved singing with the Oakley Men’s Chorus and was one of the original four, who formed the group. The closing hymn we will sing today was one of his favorites to sing with that group.
He could make anything. He made some really neat kites. I remember one in particular that he made for me. He used an old fishing reel to make it easy to wind in the kite. I thought it was the neatest thing ever.
He had a wide variety of friends from all walks of life. He was a good and loyal friend. I suppose that he had a lot of best friends. When we were kids Mom & Dad’s closest friends were Alton and Bethene Martindale. Even after the Martindale’s moved to California their friendship continued and each summer we would travel to California or they would come to Burley. Our families had a lot of fun together. A quote from Richard Exley states, “Somehow, year after year, Dad managed to take us on vacations he couldn’t afford to provide, in order to make memories that we couldn’t afford to be without.” Dad managed to make every trip memorable.
In 1978 be began keeping a journal at the suggestion of his Priesthood Elder’s Quorum teacher. Our family will be forever grateful for that suggestion. He has written several volumes which have really given us a greater understanding of his life. He wrote about just about everything that is important to him. We didn’t know about this journal, until one day when Mary Jo was asking him some questions about one of his best friends, Erwin Adams, who was killed in WWII. He brought out his journal and let her read about it. In 1999 my sister, Kaye, gave him a book entitled “A Father’s Legacy,” which had questions that would spur his memory about his life. He diligently answered each question. It was such a treasure she had to share it with the rest of us. After considerable work she was able to scan the book and have copies made and bound for his posterity. It is written in his own handwriting and is very dear to all of us. We have learned so much about our Dad and Mom from these journals.
It is here that we learned :
- of his deep love and respect for his parents & his brother and his sister and the great love he had for each of us kids.
- We learned of his courtship with mom
- That if he could chose a 2nd honeymoon anywhere in the world, he would choose Oakley, Idaho
- Love for his OHS principal, Jared Mercer
- Albion Normal School was the best teacher training school in the country
- We learned of his first teaching job in Mill Canyon, Nevada
- We learned President Hinckley & Pres. Faust were two of his greatest heroes,
- We learned he was a huge practical joker – most of those things he told us later in life – he only dared write down a few of them
- His favorite scripture is Ether 12:27
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
My dad made a lot of changes throughout his life. I know that those changes came because of his upbringing. His biggest change came when he started serving in the Boise Temple. This service brought a lot of joy to both Dad & Mom. They made a lot of new and wonderful friends there and their testimonies grew.
- We also learned of his great love of teaching.
**Personal note He taught me something about teaching. His last year of teaching school happened to be the first year I taught school. I was living at home with mom and dad and was teaching in a one room school in Almo. Each night I would sit down at the table and make out lesson plans for each subject and for each grade. This went on for about 3 weeks and I was staying up later and later each night. One night he came up and said, “Why don’t you shut that book and just start teaching those kids?” I did, and life became much more pleasant. I always appreciated my dad for giving me that advice. He was a great teacher. One of his Declo students wrote, “Your father taught me more than how to shape a piece of wood into something. He taught me courage, trust, and passion towards life. He gave me an "I can do it" attitude. I always think of him when I am working in my shop.”
When we were kids, he showed a gruff exterior, but as the years went by he began to mellow. He was so devoted to Mom. After her death, all of us kids became closer to him. He was so appreciative of all we did for him and thanked us so much. It was hard to go back and forth between Burley & Salt Lake, but I would never trade those experiences. We learned a lot about our Dad during those visits. I am glad we were able to honor his request to stay in Burley. It was his choice to go live at the Warren House in January of this year. We were so grateful that he went there willingly.
Quote from journal: I must say that I have been very grateful for my long happy life. Like all, I have had my ups and downs, but I am so happy and thankful that I have had a very healthy body to carry me through all these long and happy years.
“I’m satisfied.”
I already miss Dad & Mom, but I know that they are together now and very happy. I knowthat they want us all to be together again. I know that their passing is just a change. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we all have the opportunity to be together again.
I want to close with the words of President Hinckley – one of Dad’s heroes.
What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
'Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.
O God, touch thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.
There is no death, but only change,
With recompense for victory won.
The gift of Him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.
Goofy
We were on our way to see the Aladdin Play.
Me and Lynzee at Disneyland
The truck!
