James Warren Rayburn

Was Born, November 21, 1947 to Cheryl L. Webster, in Wallace, Idaho. He grew up there, adoring his mother, a waitress, and learning to cook in restaurants where she worked. He always wanted to share some concoction that he’d learned of during his upbringing.

He came to the Boise Valley with his mother as her jobs changed and she migrated to this area. His younger years were pretty hard and because of his lack of hearing, he attended the Gooding School for the Deaf for some time. He often spoke of bicycling to various jobs during his younger years and coordinating his rides with an uncle that had a similar comment. Riding around the country with him was like a travel log of the places he’d worked or knew of or who lived where, when.

As a young man he road with Brother’s Speed. Of them he said back in that day, they weren’t outlaws, just a bunch of guys that liked to ride motorcycles. Then one night at a party, he met Rose VanOver and his life began to change. They became a couple and married in 1965 or 1966. Rose was Idaho’s first diagnosed case of Lupas and never knew a healthy day during their marriage. They had no children though they made many friends and built close relationships with family members.

Along with other family members, they purchase property in Cascade, along the west side of the Reservoir and it became the sanctuary for them and their extended family. They spent many weekends building out the small cabin, plumbing and wiring. They loved the quiet solitude that was theirs there. Jim built a career in truck driving, years for Aluma-Glass, then for Valley Trailers, volunteering with the Meridian Police Department and finally for Saint Lukes Mobile Mammogram Unit. He so enjoyed driving the coach to various places in rural Idaho where they would provide services to residents there. Rose died in 2002 after her long battle with Lupas.

Jim married Donna Kom in about 2010. Both had been single for some time and the two of them built a home together brightened by her four adult children. After about 13 years of marriage, Donna was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and died in August of 2023.

In the fall of 2024, Jim met Sharon Ruddles, from Blackfoot. The two hit it off right away. In the spring of this year, Jim sold his home here and moved to Blackfoot to be with Sharon. It was there that he lived at the time of his passing.

Jim has been cremated, and the inurnment will be at Terrace Lawn Cemetery.