- Obituary-
Douglas McFarland Rhead was born to Claude E. and Sarah (McFarland) Rhead on March 8, 1927 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He recently passed away at the age of 93 after living a full life, and living it on his terms - busy and independent, and sharp as a tack.
He is survived by his ten children: Ron Rhead, Kent (MaryJo) Rhead, Linda Rasmussen, Randy (Donnetta) Rhead, Sandra (Kevin) Robbins, Richard (Cindy) Rhead, Stephen Rhead, Deborah Rhead, Ronda Johnson, and Kevin (Lois) Rhead. He had a whole slew of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
We know he is probably a little surprised and a little disappointed that he was called Home early, because he so wanted to make it to 100+. He just wanted to watch and see how this whole world would evolve and change. But we envision him having a pretty joyful reunion when he got Home and saw everybody welcoming him with love and open arms (he may have gotten a little talking to from his mom and his wife). He often talked about feeling that our mom was watching over and helping him. "I know that was you, Raeola."
Dad loved farming which he did for many years. Even from an early age learning from his dad, he grew to love the land and the animals. He loved cooking and canning. He loved geology, history, and politics. He talked about at a young age watching his dad debate and being fascinated by it. He loved being out in natural nature, and he so loved to dance.
He loved learning new things. He was still taking college classes at the age of 90, and was only one class away from graduating. He could talk a blue streak and talk anybody into anything, but the dynamics of a Speech class just wasn't for him. His latest achievement (and he was pretty proud of it) was mastering Sudoku.
He loved to travel and would frequently just show up on the doorstep of one of his kids or relatives unannounced. He read voraciously and was a constant visitor to the library, keeping them busy ordering the newly-released non-fiction books, which he would then give to his kids STRONGLY encouraging them to read these same books.
He loved helping people who needed it. He would always approach people and just strike up a conversation. When we would meet some of these people in his life, they always said the same thing: "I just loved your dad. He's the sweetest person ever." We would kind of puzzle at that because SOMETIMES he would give us a run for our money - you know what we mean. Wouldn't you, dad?
So basically, Dad loved Life. We love you, Dad. We're sure you're going to love this new Journey, meeting old friends and making new ones, and learning about many great things to your heart's content. Give extra hugs to Mom, Wayne, Tonya, and Becky. We miss them.
A private graveside gathering of immediate family members will be held at a later date.
source: https://www.downardfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Douglas-McFarland-Rhead?obId=17484549
|