For more resources including headstones, please visit the Star Valley Historical Society.

Doyle Berdon

Doyle Eugene Berdon passed away on June 16, 2026. He was born December 7, 1939, in Vienna, Illinois to John and Lola Donelson Berdon. He graduated from McLeansboro, Illinois High School in 1958. Upon graduation he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where his father & step-mother lived.

He helped build the Air Force Academy and later worked with his father in a trailer sales business. He married in 1958 and had five children: John Eugene, James Doyle, and Mary Catherine, all of Colorado Springs; two daughters of Topeka, Kansas, Angela Marie Triggs and Christine Anne Versluys (deceased).

He and his wife divorced in 1972 and he moved, driving long-haul trucks and working for mining companies in Utah, Idaho & Wyoming.

He began working at J.R. Simplot in Idaho in 1974 and continued until his retirement in Wyoming in 2005. He met and married Faye Ann Croney Vias in 1994. They were married in October of that same year. He was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2018 and married for time and all eternity on July 19, 2019, in the Star Valley Temple.

There will be no funeral or viewing in Afton, Wyoming. He has been cremated and his ashes will be buried at the Bancroft, Idaho cemetery in his wife’s Faye Ann’s family plot on June 27 at 11:00 a.m.

He is survived by his wife, Faye Ann, of Afton, Wyoming; four of his children; 9 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; his twin sister Doris Nadine Berdon of Raymore, Missouri; and a half-sister, Sandra Kay Berdon Ramirez of San Diego, California.

James Fairchild

Jim Fairchild passed away on June14, 2026. He was born April 5,1937 at Pomona Valley Hospital in Southern California. Because his father was an Army officer with a final assignment at the White House, Jim’s early years were spent in Colorado, Texas, the Philippines, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

While attending West Point Jim met Sandy Barton. After a two year romance they were married in June 1960. His beloved Sandy passed away in June 2020 after sixty years of marriage and two sons, Jim Jr. and Doug.

Twenty years of Army service took the family to California, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, New York, Georgia and Virginia. Jim also was assigned to Vietnam and Korea. His final assignment was on the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. After retiring from the Army in 1980 the family moved to Riverside, California where Jim began a second career as a Director and Administration and the COO for law firms. He served in these positions for four law firms over twenty years. The last firm’s main office was in Santa Monica, California and had 165 attorneys and nine offices. He also served as President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators and spoke at numerous law related conferences and law firms throughout the country. From 2000 to 2009 Jim was a consultant to law firms across the West to include firms in six western states.

In 2006 Jim and Sandy relocated to Star Valley, Wyoming and built their home at Rayco Ranch, south of Thayne.. During subsequent years Jim served on the Star Valley Health Charitable Contributions Committee and was Chair for six years.

Jim is survived by his two sons, two daughters in law and four grandchildren. Jim loved his family very much and was very proud of each of them.

Funeral services will be held in Thayne and in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania where he will be buried next to his Sandy. Please make any contributions in Jim’s name to the Animal Humane Association of Star Valley, PO Box 654, Thayne, Wyoming 83127

Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 11 a.m. at Emmanuel Bible Church in Thayne, Wyoming. Interment will be in Union Hill Cemetery in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Ruth Brown

Ruth M. Walton Brown of Lakewood, California, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2026, at the remarkable age of 101. She was born July 17, 1924 in her parent’s home in Thayne, Wayoming, the second child born to Alfred and Lena Moser Walton, preceded in birth by her older sister, Sybil, and later joined by her younger brother, Jay. Ruth was raised in Thayne where she attended elementary, junior high and high school.

Ruth married Dean Skinner on August 31, 1940. They had one child, a daughter, Joyce, who was born in 1942. The marriage later ended in divorce. Ruth then married Allen Keith Brown on January 1, 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their marriage was solemnized in the Mesa Arizona Temple in April 1954. Together they had two sons: Allen, born in 1950, and Brian, born in 1955. In 1971, Keith legally adopted Joyce, completing their family.

In 1950, seeking better employment opportunities, Ruth and Keith moved to California “for the winter”. What was intended to be a temporary stay became a lifelong home, and they happily remained there for the remainder of their lives.

Ruth was a devoted mother to her three children and took great pride in maintaining a beautiful, spotless home. Despite the demands of raising a family, she completed her high school education and later, as the children grew older, she worked as a doctor’s assistant. Never one to stop learning or pursuing new opportunites, she earned her real estate license in 1981 and became a member of the Red Carpet Real Estate team.

Ruth was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1932. She loved serving in teh Church and faithfully fulfilled many callings throughout her life. Her service included Primary Historian, Guide Patrol Leader, Sunday School Teacher, Young Women Counselor and Laurel Leader, Relief Society Education Counselor, Teacher and President, as well as Stake Young Women President. Through these and many other opportunities to serve, she touched the lives of countless individuals with her faith, dedication, and love.

Together, Ruth and Keith served three full-time missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: the Florida Tallahassee Mission from 1987 to 1988, the New York Rochester Mission from 1990 to 1991, and the London England Temple Mission from 1999 to 2001. Ruth loved working in the temple and served as a temple worker in the Los Angeles Temple and London England Temple for a total of 27 years of devoted service.

Ruth is survived by her nine grandchildren: Vicki Richardson of Owasso, OK; Scott Mitchell of Mission Viejo, CA; Janae (John) Bradaric of Cypress, CA; Amy (Aaron) Anvaripour of Lomita, CA; Jeff Brown of Cypress, CA; Ryan (Madison) Brown of Anaheim, CA; Jenilyn (Greg) Smith of Aliso Viejo, CA; Michael Brown of Farmington, UT; Carolyn (Austin) Knowles of Hyrum, UT.

In addition, Ruth is survived by 19 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchldren.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Sybil; her brother, Jay; her husband, Keith and her grandson, Timmy.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Juen 20th, at 11:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6500 E. Atherton St., Long Beach, CA. A viewing will precede the funeral from 10:00 to 10:45.

A Memorial service will also be held on Saturday, June 27, at 11 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 276 Dana Street, Thayne, Wyoming. A viewing will precede the service from 10:00 to 10:45. Interment will follow at the Thayne Cemetery.