DeEtta Driggs

Funeral services for DeEtta Maxine Floyd Driggs, 92, who died suddenly at home in Driggs Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, of a heart condition, will be conducted Thursday at noon in the Teton LDS Stake Center in Driggs. Bishop Tom Hill will officiate. The family will greet visitors from 10:30 until time of services.

She was born Sept. 25, 1925, at a maternity home in Driggs. Her early years were spent with her parents, Evan and Norma Floyd, in Sam, a coal mining town west of Driggs. The family moved to Driggs when she turned 6.

She attended elementary school and high school in Driggs. She was smart, particularly with numbers,  and she was musical, playing the clarinet and tenor sax in the dance band, the French horn in the orchestra and the baritone sax in the band. She had plenty of stories to tell about trips the bands took.

After graduating from Teton High School she worked briefly at a store in Driggs and later at a bank. She left Driggs to train as a nurse at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, a course taught by Catholic nuns.

She returned to Driggs to work for a time for Dr. O.D. Hoffman at the brand new Teton Valley Hospital. There she met her future husband, Cleon “Kelly” Howard Driggs. They were married Aug. 23, 1946.

She spent the next few years as a homemaker, mom and community volunteer, enjoying family outings that usually involved fishing or water skiing. She liked to hike and loved to swim.  She relished working on Driggs planning and zoning commissions twice and as a Teton County election worker.

When Grand Targhee Resort opened about the time her children were grown, she went to work there until she retired. She was proud of her father’s role in starting the resort and helped hand out trophies each year at school ski races named in his honor.

She and her husband were known for their hospitality and wide circle of friends. She was a devoted wife and helped care for her husband through his last few years of failing health.

She loved to wear bright colors, to go out to lunch and to engage with young great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren when they visited her.

She enjoyed traveling with her children, visiting Paris with her son Allan, New York City with her daughter Joanne and Alaska with her daughter Joyce. She was outspoken and loved to talk politics and to reminisce about growing up in Sam and Driggs. She was a valuable historical resource due to her longevity and excellent memory.

She took great pride in all she raised from her family to the beautiful geraniums and petunias in her yard. She watered them with great care. Keeping a comfortable, clean house was important to her, and she took pride in being self-sufficient with a little help, particularly from her granddaughter Sally Myler, who lovingly looked after her needs with daily visits.

She is survived by her children and their spouses, Joyce (Lee) Edlefsen of St. Anthony, Allan Floyd (Cheryl) Driggs of Spring, Texas, and Joanne (Randy) Raichart of Washingtonville, N.Y; sisters, Ann (Nile) Miner of Middleton and LaRee Bonn of Las Vegas, Nev., 11 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband; sisters, Lola Hansen and Marcia Berger and brother-in-law Robert Bonn.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in her name to a favorite charity. Arrangements are under the direction of Valley Mortuary in Driggs.