Born: Friday Nov-20-1925
Died: Friday Jan-09-2015
Funeral: Friday Jan-16-2015

Morrison Payne Funeral Home
& Crematory
321 E Main St
Burley, ID 83318
Contact and Directions

Keith Eugene Amende, 89, passed away Friday, January 9, 2015 at Parke View Care Center in Burley, Idaho. Keith was born November 20, 1925, in Albion, Idaho the youngest of three children born to Walter and Bessie Lackey Amende. He was born in the house he lived in for most of his life. Raised in Albion, he attended school K-college in his hometown graduating salutatorian of his high school class. He was active in high school lettering in all sports. Being a farmer, he attended winter quarters at ASN/SICE when he could play basketball. Keith married Mary Jean Bradley on June 1, 1944, the day after she graduated from Albion State Normal School. They were married in the historic Albion Methodist Church where they later celebrated their fiftieth and sixtieth anniversaries. Mary passed away April 1, 2012. They were a team throughout their marriage. Their first home was in Albion, but they moved to the family dry farm, homesteaded in 1909, north of Albion in 1946. While Keith served in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II, Mary stayed with her mother and a sister in Salt Lake City, Utah. The first of their six daughters was born just two days before he shipped out for Okinawa. Keith’s family meant the world to him. He was involved in and supportive of his wife’s activities and his daughters’ education and activities. Always there to lend a helping hand, he was also supportive of his grandchildren. He was a foster father to 26 children over 11 years. Keith was a dryland grain farmer for over 40 years selling the farm corporation in 1986 and became just a rancher. A charter member of the Idaho Wheat Commission, he served on Wheat Commission for 10 years. For many years he raised chickens and milked cows selling eggs and milk around the valley. In 1994 he donated land for the Albion/Declo transfer site and worked there for several years. A service oriented person, Keith gave many hours of volunteer service. Civic organizations in which he served were Boys Scouts, PTA, Grange, Albion Chamber of Commerce, Cassia County and Albion Historical Societies, the American Legion, Albion Community Relations Committee, Cassia School Board, Wheat Growers Association, and the Knife and Fork Club. He served as an officer and chairman at various levels in all these groups. As a team Keith and Mary worked together in the Adopt-A-Highway cleanup program; the Red Cross Blood Drive; the Ground Observer Corps, and the Senior Citizens. They chaired two countywide July 4th Celebrations. They were charter members of the Albion Quick Response Unit when it first organized. As a member of the Albion church of Christ, Keith taught adult Bible classes, preached occasionally, and was a song leader until his death. He and Mary sponsored many youth group activities. Keith loved the Albion Valley, especially the campus. As president of the ASN/SICE Alumni Association for many years, he organized the annual homecomings and was instrumental in creating the campus museum. When the old college closed, he looked for someone to make use of the campus. When Magic Valley Christian College came to the campus, Keith and Mary worked to get the campus ready and he later served on the Board of Trustees. He was happy to see the purchase of the campus a few years ago. He enjoyed a variety of hobbies: acting, singing, sports including league bowling, reading, inventing, listening to their large music collection and the radio, watching TV, being outdoors, hunting and fishing, and traveling. And he was nearly always available when someone needed a helping hand. He also enjoyed entertaining and opening his home to others. He received many honors through the years. He and Mary received the Albion Community Citizen Award for their community service. In 1995 they were Grand Marshalls for the Cassia County Fair and Rodeo. They were selected as Idaho Grange Young Couple of the Year twice, honored as Farmer Couple of the Year by the Mini-Cassia Chamber of Commerce, and recognized by the Red Cross. Keith is survived by four daughters-Mary Lynne (Bruce) Bristol of Albion, Sharon (Bill) Tyson of Salt Lake City; Gloria West of Rupert, and Carol Amende of Albion; sisters-in-law-Vira Amende of Twin Falls; two sons-in-law; a special daughter-Dovie Carlson of Boise; nine grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; two daughters-Anne Marie (Joe) Phillips and Susan (Jim) Stopper; brother, Robert; sister, Maxine Bowlden; brother-in law, Mark Bowlden; and niece, Marcine Bowlden Weeks. The funeral services for Keith will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, January 16 at the Morrison Funeral Home, 188 S Hwy 24, Rupert, Idaho with Herman Pope officiating. A visitation will be held at the Morrison Funeral Home in Rupert from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 15 and one hour prior to the service on Saturday. The graveside will follow at the Albion Pleasant Hill Cemetery with Military Honors. The family wishes to express a very big “thank you” to the employees and volunteers of the Intermountain Homecare and Hospice and the Parke View Care Center. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the charity or organization of your choice in Keith’s memory.