Verda O'Crowley

Verda Valera Edwards O'Crowley died Friday September 28, 2012 at her home in Carey, ID. She was 83 years old. She was born in Jerome ID. Sept 5, 1929 to Marjorie and LaFell Edwards. She was the sixth of eight children and is survived by her children Dana O'Crowley of Verna, UT, Heidi Baldwin of Ketchum, ID, Tim O'Crowley of Diamond, OR, Holly Rivera of Carey ID, Andy O'Crowley of Mesa AZ and Heather Crawford of Stuttgart Germany; two younger brothers Carl Edwards of Grangeville ID. and Lee Edwards of Genesee ID. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Harry O'Crowley, three older brothers Milford, Vernon and Deloy Edwards and two older sisters; Cathrine Sweat and O'Leah Lutnick.
Verda was raised in Muldoon ID and started school there in the Old Austin school house before she was even 5 years old. Her Mother agreed to start her at such a young age to be able to keep the school open and running with 12 whole kids. She only went to school there for three years before she moved with her family to Carey so her older siblings could go to high school. She graduated from High School in 1946 and then moved to Boise, ID to work for the Bell Telephone Company. She say's of herself, "I was fast and did a good job for them, but my ears got to hurting so bad I had to quit". She was one of 25 girls that sat side by side with a switch board in front of them and when the board lit up they would plug into that light and ask for what number; then you would connect to it. She bought herself a fur coat with the money she earned from that job. After that she stayed in an apartment with her best friend, Merline Farnsworth and worked for a lady named Mrs Bennett caring and cooking for her. I guess that is where she learned to become such a great cook.
She met and married Harry O'Crowely in 1949 and they moved to Picabo, ID where they worked and lived on the K-K ranch for nearly 40 years. Together they created a wonderful home for themselves and their children. Many memories were made on that ranch while she cooked for the ranch crew and raised her family.
She was not only a member of the LDS church and held many positions within that but also very active in the community. She was on the board to get the library started with a book mobile in Picabo and the Little Wood River library in Carey. She loved to read and wanted that for her community also. She was a member of the first riding club in Hailey, The Cow Bells, was a Cub Scouts leader, worked with the schools Environmental Camps, the election boards and anything else she was asked to serve on. She had an incredible work ethic. The thing she was most known for however was her cooking. Boy, could she cook too!
In 1988 she and Harry both retired and moved to their home in Carey. She went right to work again creating another beautiful home for themselves. With retirement came more opportunities and time to enjoy her love of travel however. She was very blessed to see some of the great sites of this world visiting most of the United States and many countries abroad. Her home was filled with souvenirs from all of these adventures.
Verda was an example to many and will be missed by all.