Dec. 22, 1937 - Jul. 19, 2022
Date of Service: Jul. 29, 2022
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BURLEY – Homer Dean Giles, loving husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend, passed away on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
Homer was born December 22, 1937, in Richfield, Idaho, to Dean Hosie Giles and Ellen Sweat Giles. He was the second of six children born to Dean and Ellen; namely, Iona (Roy) Miller, Alice Flavel, Dwayne Giles, Roberta (Gary) Jones, and Charles (Carol) Giles.
Homer was raised on a farm where there was much work to be done. He began doing chores at age seven and driving tractor at age eight. At the age of nine, his father was crippled in an automobile accident, which increased his work responsibilities. His first paying job came in his grade-school years, working for five cents an hour picking potatoes. He remembers being poor but didn’t know anything different. He had fond childhood memories.
Living in the country, Homer had to create his own fun. He enjoyed horseback riding, rabbit hunting, swimming in the Little Wood River, and Friday night country dancing. He played tight end on his high school football team. At the age of nineteen he enlisted in the U.S. Airforce. He loved his service and duty working as a B-52 Bomber mechanic.
On July 5, 1958, Homer married, and later divorced, Kathryn Eileen Anderson. They were blessed with four beautiful children; namely, Teresa (Alex) Gonzales, Nancy (Michael) Borchardt, Robert Dean (Bonnie) Giles, and Ricky Ray (Janelle) Giles. He married Bertha Priest Jones in September of 1978. He inherited Bertha’s six children and treated them as his own and was a loving stepfather. He was blessed with seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His union with Bertha brought an additional 32 grandchildren and 114 great-grandchildren.
After his Airforce service, Homer worked in road construction with the Utah company Cox Brothers, at Ore-Ida Foods, and then at Kraft Foods. He then began to moonlight nights and weekends hanging Sheetrock. After the crew went home, he would use the crew’s texturing tools to practice drywall finish work. Soon he was hired as a finish drywaller. In 1978, he founded his own business called Giles Drywall Service. His drywall career lasted 27 years. He was highly regarded in the industry and much sought after for his quality work.
Homer was friendly, happy, loving, and generous with his affection. He always demonstrated his love openly with friends and family, and they always knew how much he cared about them. He liked to tease and interact with all those around him. He enjoyed his friendship with neighbors and his fellowship with members of his ward and was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Homer was preceded in death by his parents, Dean and Ellen; two siblings, Iona Miller and Charles Giles; and his daughter, Teresa Gonzales.
He is survived by his wife, Bertha Giles; his siblings, Alice Flavel, Dwayne Giles, and Roberta Jones; and children, Nancy Borchardt, Robert Giles, and Ricky Giles.
The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 29, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Burley 4th Ward, located at 515 E. 16th St., in Burley, with Bishop Mark Dallon officiating. Burial will follow at Gem Memorial Gardens in Burley. Military rites will be provided by the Mini-Cassia Veterans Group and the honor guard from Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Family and friends will be received from 5 until 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Friday, preceding the funeral, at the church.
A live webcast of the Funeral Service will be available and maintained at the following link: https://youtu.be/ay7arkdk48I.
