Thomas Russ Jr.

Thomas Lee Russ Jr., age 93 of Mountain Home, passed away at the VA Medical Center/Nursing Home in Boise on Sept. 3, 2016. Funeral services were held on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel. Burial with full military honors followed at Mountain View Cemetery.

Thomas was born Oct. 17, 1922, in Wilmington, N.C., the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lee and Ida Pearl (Marine) Russ. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas.

In 1941, he was sent to Hawaii where he met and married Lydia Leilani Caswell on June 20, 1944, in Honolulu.

In 1945, Tom and Lydia left Hawaii to work in North Carolina, Florida and Philippine Islands, Delaware, Idaho and Spain, retiring to Hawaii before returning to Mountain Home in 1969 where they made their home.

A member of the American Legion Post #26, he served a term of Post Commander and then as Fourth District Commander of the State of Idaho. Active as a life time member for the 40/8 Voiture 336, he served as Chef de Gare and went on to serve as Grand Chef de Gare du Idaho.

He served lifetime memberships for the DAV and Handy Mans Club of America and a Charter Member for the Mountain Home Police Department Citizens on Patrol (COP) program.

His wife, Lydia, and his daughter, Toni Ann Wood of Texas, preceded him in death. He is survived by his four daughters, Rose Marie Kuuipo Camara of Honolulu, Hawaii; Lydia NaniAlii Jamieson of Mountain Home; Hope Leilani Bennett of Parryville, Pa.; and JoAnn Kuulei Delery of Bend, Ore. There are 11 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Thomas was a loving husband and father. He will surely be missed.