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In Memory

Donald Burdick - Class of 1970

 Donald LeGrand Burdick, 70, passed on to the next life on the afternoon of October 1, 2022, in Montpelier, Idaho. Viewings will be held Friday, October 7 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 8 from 9:00 – 10:45 a.m. with funeral services to follow at 11:00 a.m. in the Bennington Ward meetinghouse. Interment will follow in the Bennington Cemetery.  

Born June 1, 1952, in Montpelier, Idaho, Don was the third of five children in the LeGrand and Margaret Burdick family. He spent his childhood in Montpelier where he attended and graduated from Bear Lake High School.

He married his forever sweetheart, Lyona Sparks, on November 21, 1975, in the Logan Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Don and Lyona adopted and raised two sons, Adam and Levi.  

As a young adult, Don joined his father in the family home construction business. He quickly became adept with a backhoe and showed his talent for precision digging. Throughout his lifetime, he dug many basements for new homes with Lyona as his assistant. They also made a great team while working to develop springs in the mountains used for watering cattle and sheep. Don had an intuition for knowing exactly how deep to dig. He also dug many hundreds of graves throughout the Bear Lake Valley.  

In addition to being a contractor and excavator, Don shared his talents in other areas of work. He ran the family farm for most of his adult life, acted as a manager for the Centre Theatre for more than 25 years, and was the Bear Lake County Fire Chief for 40 years. If that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, he also worked for Bear Lake County as a trail groomer for 10 years. He would do just about anything to be outside in the winter as he truly loved the snow and cold.  

Don also had an affinity for cooking. His Dutch oven delights were well known by family, friends, and coworkers. He also lifted others through his selfless service, often plowing snow for neighbors, helping with handyman projects, or brightening a person’s day with his warm belly laugh.  

Perhaps Don’s favorite pastime was enjoying nature and being outside. He spent many days fishing at Jenny’s Lake with his friends, the Phelps boys. He enjoyed driving through the mountains looking for unexplored backroads and looked forward to his family’s annual trip to Grand Teton National Park, one of his favorite places to take his grandchildren. His three grandkids—Danika, Liam, and Lexi—were truly the greatest joys of his life.  

Don is survived by his wife Lyona; sons Adam and Levi; sister Carol Davidson, brother Laran P. Burdick (Shelley); sister Mary Miller (Jules); grandchildren Danika Stoutmeyer, Liam Thomas, and Alexis Thomas; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, LeGrand Burdick and Margaret Speirs Burdick, and his sister Judy Pedersen.