- Date Of Birth: January 28, 1933
- Date Of Death: November 14, 2020
- State: Idaho
Larry J Butikofer, age 87, passed away at his home in Pocatello, Idaho, on November 14, 2020.
Larry was born January 28, 1933, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to John J and Ethel Bills Butikofer. He was the second of five children. When his mother was released from the Idaho Falls LDS Hospital, mother and baby rode in the caboose of the switch engine train to the Coltman siding eight miles north of Idaho Falls. The winter of 1933 was cold with deep drifting snow. Most roads were closed, so Larry’s father warmed up bricks, wrapped them in blankets for the bottom of the sleigh, and with horses pulling them over the drifted fields and buried fences, they arrived home to where Larry would spend a good share of his life before his marriage to Sharon A Butikofer on August 2, 1957, in the Idaho Falls Temple.
Larry grew up on a 40 acre farm north of Idaho Falls. He spent many hours on farm equipment pulled by horses to plant and harvest fields. In school, he lettered in football, track, basketball, and baseball and won the Babe Ruth Sportsmanship Award. He graduated from Bonneville High School in 1952. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in February 1952 and was stationed for two years in Augsberg, Germany. He achieved an expert rifleman rating prior to his honorable discharge in 1955.
Larry was employed as a pickup and delivery driver with Garrett Freight Lines in Idaho Falls at the time of his marriage to Sharon, and soon after that, he transferred to Pocatello where he trained to become a long line driver. He drove for Garrett’s for 35 years. Their first family home was in Pocatello before building on Buckskin Road.
Larry loved horses, was an accomplished rider, and rode and competed in the Bannock County Sheriff’s Posse for several years. He broke and trained some of his own horses. He took pride in shoeing his horses and in raising hay for them on his five acres located along Buckskin Road. He was an avid and very successful hunter of big game animals and continued packing into primitive areas to hunt into his 70’s. He also loved fishing and found ice fishing as attractive as fair weather fishing. His other interests included reading, gardening, and keeping his five acres in top shape. No weed escaped alive!
Larry is survived by his wife, Sharon; one son, Douglas; and one daughter, Lori Jean; four granddaughters, Sarah, Rachel, Ellie and Elizabeth; and two great-granddaughters, Tayla and Jayln. He is also survived by two sisters, Maxine and Laveta; and one brother, Arlen.
