Rone Clawson

Moroni Oborn (Rone) Clawson, 83, of Firth Idaho, left this earth to return to his Heavenly Father on March 19, 2012.  He passed away peacefully at home, from pancreatic cancer.

Rone was born to Ray and Veva Harker Clawson on July 24, 1928 in Shelley Idaho.  When he was six weeks old, his family moved from Idaho to Montana, settling in Charlo where he went to elementary school and started high school. He returned to Idaho in 1947 and completed the last two years at Shelley High School.

When he returned to Idaho he lived and worked with the Joe Dial family where he was considered to be the “older brother” of the family and he thought of them as his second family. He continued working for them through the last few years of school and stayed on after his high school graduation.

After two years of courting he married Beth Madsen in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on August 10, 1949.  They were married by President Francis M. Davis. They were married for more than 62 years at the time of his passing.

It was late winter 1951 when Rone received his draft notice to help our country fight the war in Korea. In January 1952 he reported to Camp Roberts for sixteen weeks of basic training, followed by eight weeks in Leadership Training School. Rone received orders to go to Korea in September 1952. He served in the Army Engineers and saw action during the height of the conflict. He was in Korea when the Armistice between North and South Korea was signed.  He advanced from the rank of PFC to Staff Sergeant and was over a Platoon of men as a combat engineer building roads, bridges, bunkers, etc.  He was discharged in December 1953 and continued to serve in the Army Reserve for the next six years.

Upon his return home, Rone continued farming and eventually was able to purchase a farm near Firth in Lower Presto in 1961, where he and his wife, Beth, have lived for 51 years. In his early farming years he was selected to be Farmer of the Year by the Shelley Kiwanis Club.

He was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and he served in many ward and stake callings. He served as Bishop of Goshen Ward, in the Firth Idaho Stake Presidency, and ordinance worker in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. He also served as Regional Welfare Agent. He and his wife served five full-time missions and a two-year stake mission.

He was active in community affairs and was a director on the Idaho Irrigation District Board of Directors for eighteen years.  He was on the Bingham Cooperative Board of Directors for nine years.  And was a  member of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers where he served as President for two years.

He and his wife traveled extensively to China, India, Europe, South America, Israel, Russia, Scandinavia, British Isles, Thailand, Taiwan, Egypt, the South Pacific, Aruba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, and the forty-eight remaining states, to name a few.

Some of his hobbies included lapidary, and he shared many of his rock creations with family and friends. He enjoyed reading; his favorites included the scriptures, LDS Church books and books by Louis Lamour. His most important and cherished hobby was farming. His passion was planting straight rows that produced exceptional Russet Burbank potatoes, growing grain, and planting and harvesting a bountiful garden every year.

He loved people to come and visit, especially family.  Having grandchildren and great-grandchildren visit so he could play with them and give “horsey-back rides,” gave him a great deal of joy and happiness.  He was happy and had a positive hard-working outlook on life, and cared a great deal for others.  He was an excellent example to all who knew him and was looked to for guidance and direction by many.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers George Ray and John R. Clawson, and sisters Veva and Beth Mortensen.

He is survived by his wife; two sons, Kirk L. (Cherie), Blackfoot, ID, and Michael R. (Connie), Firth, ID; three sisters, Emily Orilla Scott, Shelley, ID, Marion Cox, St. George UT, and Myrtle Lee Allred, Salt Lake City, UT; sister-in-law, Tess Madsen Porter; fifteen grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grandchildren.

Appreciation from Rone’s family is extended to his hospice workers Leslie Sieger and especially to Kara Yancey. Appreciation also is extended to friends and relatives for their visits and thoughtful actions and words through his illness.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, March 22, 2012 at the Presto Ward Chapel (792 North 1090 East) in Goshen.  Friends and family are invited to a viewing at Nalder Funeral Home (110 West Oak) in Shelley on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 from 6-8 p.m. and on Thursday at Presto Ward Chapel prior to the funeral from 9-10:40 a.m.  Burial will be in Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery with military rites by David B. Bleak Post 93 assisted by the Idaho Honor Guard.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Primary Children’s Medical Center or Hunstman Cancer Foundation.

Memorial and Honor Program

Huntsman Cancer Foundation

500 Huntsman Way

Salt Lake City

, UT  84108

Primary Children’s Medical Center Foundation

100 North Mario Capecchi Drive

P.O. Box 58249

Salt Lake City, UT 84158-0249

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