The following obituaries appeared in the March 20, 2024 edition of the Star Valley Independent.
For more area obituaries, please visit Schwab Mortuary.
For more resources including headstones, please visit the Star Valley Historical Society.
George Alleman
George Douglas Alleman passed away peacefully on March 3, 2024. He was the youngest boy of Douglas and Nedra Alleman. He really enjoyed working and traveling with several different seismic crews, working in the gold mines in Nevada, then going to Seattle and becoming a machinist.
George married Mickie in 1987. Later on they divorced. George then married Carrie VanDarlin in 1998. In 2011 George and Carrie decided to move back to Afton.
George is survived by his daughter Britany, son-in-law Darrin, four grandchildren, Gabe, Brooke, Wyatt and Marie, his brother Jim (Donna) of Washington and his sister Louise of Utah.
He is preceded in death by his parents Doug and Nedra and his older brother David.
Graveside services will take place on June 1, 2024 at 1 p.m.
Earlene Perry
Earlene Perry, 88, of Afton, Wyoming returned to her Heavenly Father on March 15, 2024 in the home of her youngest son and daughter in law in Afton.
She was born June 9,1935 to Elma Richardson Merkley and Earl Merkley in Jensen Utah. She spent most of her younger days in Uinta County Basin milking cows and Helping run the family farm. Her family later moved to Kamas where she graduated from South Summit High.
While in High school she met the love of her life LaMar Perry. To this union 6 children were Born, Earlene Worked in many Cleaning Capacities and alongside her Husband in his construction/ Excavation and Demolition Business, She worked cleaning until she was 85 years old . She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints and served in many callings in the church. She was a strong Feisty independent Matriarch of the family and didn’t want to rely on anyone she wanted to be the one to help them, She was known by many as Grandma as she would treat you like one of her own.
Earlene is survived by a brother Scott (Roberta) Merkley, Sisters Renae Cosey, Lisa (mike) Smith, Beth McCauley, children Weldon Perry, Shane (Christie) Perry, Susan Thompson, Julie (paul) West, Travis (Wendy) Perry, 21 grandchildren, 72 great grandchildren, and many great, great grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Lamar, and son Earl Dee Perry, She will be greatly missed.
A celebration of life will be determined by the family at a later date.
Joyce Johnson
Longtime Jackson resident Joyce Elaine Johnson died at home in Jackson on March 5. She was 81. The following was provided by her family.
Joyce was born Jan. 11, 1943, to Adolf and Agnes Kuck. She married her high school sweetheart, David W. Johnson, on May 26, 1963. Three children were born to this union: Suzanne (Philadelphia), Wade (Alpine) and Luke, (Seattle).
Joyce was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. In her early years she was a beauty pageant winner at 18 years old.
She was a deputy county treasurer at 19 and a dedicated mother by 22. She had a deep faith and served her church in many capacities: as a Sunday school teacher, VBS teacher, art instructor, financial secretary, treasurer and pianist.
David and Joyce kept a summer residence in Jackson, starting in 1978, and moved permanently in 1984.
Joyce was the manager of the Browse ’N Buy thrift store for a number of years, She administered the food bank for Wyoming and was honored by the state for her work. Joyce was awarded Citizen of the Year in 1990 by the Teton County Task Force. She was also the manager of the Hallmark Store and opened its floral department. She was a member of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce and was a hunting camp cook for her son Wade’s outfitting business across Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. She achieved her real estate license while living in the Gillette area and sold many ranches.
Joyce was known for her floral design, interior design and avid artistry, noted for her oils, water colors, and pen and inks. She judged art at the Teton County Fair for many years.
Joyce loved to travel and made many trips to Australia to visit her daughter and grandchildren. She loved the California coast and took many trips with her children and grandchildren to Disneyland and Disney world. She recently visited Hawaii, a part of her bucket list. She loved collecting seashells.
Joyce was a dedicated fan and never missed supporting all her children’s music, theater, sports and rodeo events. She and David traveled all across Wyoming to watch and cheer.
Most recently she could be found at the Jackson Hole Rodeo to watch her twin grandsons, Jeremiah and Jude, in the mini bull riding. She was their biggest fan.
Joyce was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, David W. Johnson, on December 5, 2020; her parents; brother Harold Kuck; and son-in-law Jim Wilson.
She will be sorely missed by her three children; grandsons Jesse (Casey) Thomson, Caleb (Sofia) Thomson, of Australia, and Jeremiah and Jude Johnson, of Alpine; and her great-grandchildren, Heath, Jaxson and Berni Thomson, of Australia).
“When we get to the end of our lives together, the house we had, the cars we drove, the things we possessed won’t matter. What will matter is that I had you and you had me.”
Rex Spackman
Rex Arthur Spackman passed away from natural causes at the age of 88 on March 14, 2024 in Bountiful, Utah. He loved his family, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the outdoors, horses, Blue Spruce trees, cold milk, and vanilla ice cream.
He was born September 23, 1935 in Soda Springs, Idaho and was the son of Edward Arthur and Thecla Lindholm Spackman. His growing up years were spent on the family ranch up Jackknife Creek in Freedom along the Idaho and Wyoming border. After graduating from Star Valley High School, he attended Ricks College and Utah State University before being hired by the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) as a fish hatchery manager. Early in his career, the Army National Guard assigned him to active duty in Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri and Ft. Lewis Washington. Around this time, on June 8 1959, he married Connie Linford from Afton, Wyoming in the Idaho Falls temple. After completing his military service, he returned to work for the IDFG and they lived throughout central and southern Idaho at fish hatcheries. To this union were born two sons, Ross and Brad.
Upon retiring from IDFG, the family moved back to the ranch in Freedom where Rex did some farming, dairying, and worked for a time at the phosphate mines in Soda Springs. His real love was spending time in the mountains on horseback and camping, fishing, and hunting with his boys. He was more comfortable than most people when sleeping under the stars with a saddle for a pillow.
In June 2006, Rex and Connie served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints working on the Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch in central Florida. Connie’s untimely death forced him to return home. Determined to serve the Lord, he volunteered for a short time as a caretaker at a Church summer camp near Evanston WY. He enjoyed being a leader in the Boy Scouts of America program and served faithfully in the Church wherever he was needed.
He is survived by his two sons, Ross (Gaylynn) Spackman of Sugar City, Idaho and Brad (Michelle) Spackman of Bountiful, Utah, 10 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be held on March 23 at the Freedom Ward church located at 1556 WY-239, Freedom, Wyoming. The viewing will be 10:30 am to 11:30 a.m. with the services at 12:00. Interment will be at the Freedom, Idaho cemetery.
