"Slim" David Billy Stringham

David Billy (Slim) Stringham, 77, died July 22, 2009, at his home in Rigby, Idaho. Billy was born May 5, 1932, in Dubois, Idaho, to Thomas Lavon Stringham and Molly Marie Ludwig Stringham. They lived in Medicine Lodge, Idaho. Billy’s family moved to Ucon in 1938 where his father farmed until he retired in 1979. Billy joined the US Army in 1950 and served at Fort Jackson, SC, until he was deployed to Germany where he finished his term of service at Dachau Prison. Billy married Evelyn Elisse Hoag on October 8, 1955, at Milo, Idaho. For the first few years of their marriage, Billy worked in the mines at Cobalt. They moved to Labelle (Rigby), Idaho, in 1959. Billy worked a few odd jobs and then went to work for the Jefferson County Road and Bridge Department where he worked for 32 years. He retired in 1993. Billy was a soft spoken man with a dry wit. He loved the outdoors and spent many weekends fishing and hunting with buddies and many weekends camping with his family. Billy never spent a day of his life without a faithful dog by his side. While serving in Germany, he adopted a stray which the guys kept in the barracks with them. When he left Germany, he willed his dog to another soldier’s care. He loved all animals and raised several cows, pigs, rabbits, geese, ducks, turkeys, and chickens on his small acreage in Labelle. Billy spent his retirement caring for others, he would often be at a friend’s home early in the morning to help them get from their bed because they were battling cancer or some other illness and would be there again at night to help them retire. He was an active member of VFW Post 1004, he served as adjutant, was on the funeral team that performed military rites, and spent many hours selling and giving away buddy poppies. Billy’s great grandson Tailor was the joy of his life. He will be greatly missed by friends, family, and the local coffee stop where he started every day chatting with the guys and teasing the pretty girls. His faithful dogs, Peaches and Maggie, will be lost for a while, too. Billy was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Floyd, who died as a child; and by three children, Billy Ray, Marla Jean, and Lucinda Dee, who passed away at birth. He is survived by a brother, Lee Stringham of Ucon, Idaho; two sisters, Bonnie Bright of Emmett, Idaho, and Fern Fluke of Spokane, Washington; his wife, Evelyn Elisse Hoag Stringham; two daughters, Serena Rolfe of Rigby, Idaho, and Jenny Stringham of Salmon, Idaho; two sons, James Stringham of Rigby, Idaho, and Robert Wayne Stringham of Rigby, Idaho; three grandchildren, Brandy Daniels, Emilio Martinez, and Michael Rolfe; and one great grandson, Tailor Daniels. Funeral services will be held at the Labelle, Idaho, LDS Chapel on Saturday, July 25th, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., under the care of Eckersell Memorial Chapel, in Rigby. He will be interred at the Annis Little Butte Cemetery. Jefferson County Post 1004 will perform military rites. Friends and family will be received to say farewell on Friday, July 24th, 2009, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Eckersell Funeral Home and at the Labelle Chapel and Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., prior to services at the church.