Chester_Thomas James_19 May 1914
Pocatello, Ida- Thomas James Chester, 86, professor emeritus, died Monday morning, June 19, 2000, at a local health care facility.
He was born May 19, 1914, in Downey, Idaho, to Walter James and Virginia Dox Pratt Chester. He was raised on a farm in Henry, Idaho, on the Blackfoot Reservoir in Caribou County. Tom attended school in a one- room school house in Henry. His teacher for the fourth through the eighth grades was his mother, Virginia P. Chester.
Tom graduated from Soda Springs High School in 1933, the middle of the Great Depression. In September 1933, he enrolled in the University of Idaho, Southern Branch in Pocatello. He then transferred to the University of Idaho Agriculture School in Moscow, Idaho. In June of 1938, he graduated with a B.S degree in animal science and range management. Following his graduation, he was employed by the United States Forest Service as an administrative guard in Pinedale, Wyoming. He was one of the last of the saddle horse rangers.
On March 1, 1939, he was employed by the University of Idaho as a county agriculture agent for Caribou County. On October 1, 1942, he was transferred to the Bonneville County Agriculture Office in Idaho Falls. On August 1, 1946, he was promoted to district extension agent supervisor with headquarters in Pocatello. He served as the supervisor of county agent personnel for 16 southeastern Idaho counties for 40 hears. He retired from the extension service June 30, 1979.
Tom married Edith Gayle Luthi on June 16, 1941, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She preceded him in death on October 10, 1986.
Tom served as the supervisor of the 4-H Club projects at the Eastern Idaho State Fair for 32 years. In 1947, he organized and conducted the Junior 4-H and FFA fat stock sales. In 1962, Tom organized the area 4-H horse show, held at the Southeast Idaho Fair. He was the grand marshal of the eastern Idaho State Fair parade in 1980. In 1948, he initiated the idea and pioneered the planning and construction of the Alpine 4-H summer Camp in Alpine, Wyoming. Since Tom’s retirement, he had operated the Chesters’ County Store in Henry, Idaho. It was a family owned business since 1982.
Tom was Christian in his beliefs.
He is survived by one son, James T. (Jim) Chester, Pocatello; one daughter, Virginia Gayle (Ginger) Chester, Pocatello; one sister, Marjorie Quine, Pocatello. He was preceded in death by his wife and parents.
Funeral services will be conducted Thursday, June 22, 2000, at 11 a.m. in the Henderson-Cornelison Funeral Chapel, 431 North 15th Ave., with Bishop John Fitzen conducting. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until service time on Thursday at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Freedom Cemetery in Freedom, Wyoming.
The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the following who provided loving care for our father during his illness; Jean Simpson, Prohealth Home Care, Dr. Ronald Solbrig.