Obituary of William David Haley

William David Haley (78) longtime Fernwood, ID resident passed away at Kootenai Health after a 4-wheeler accident. Dave was born on October 20, 1941 to Ivan and Goldie (Whitten) Haley in Shawnee Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. Dave and his family lived on the reservation a few years before moving to Nampa, ID. Dave grew up in the Caldwell, ID area and attended school there. He left school in the 8th grade and worked odd jobs to support himself. He made money sharpening knives, and this is how he purchased his first car. At the age of 17, Dave met Elsie Lueck and they later married. Dave and Elsie had 3 children, Robert, Robin, and David. After 10 years of marriage, they divorced. Dave then obtained his GED and enrolled into college in Twin Falls, ID for Electronics. On New Years Eve 1968, Dave met Carole while attending a party. He slid right up to her and kissed her before even saying hello, and that began their love story of 52 years. They married on June 7, 1969 and made their home in Nampa. He worked as an electronics repairman to support his family. In 1974 Dave and Carole moved to Fernwood, ID. Being an outdoorsman and an avid hunter and fisherman, Dave fell in love with the area. The family lived on 5 acres in a 16-foot camper – Dave, Carole, and 8 children. Dave went to work as a Head Sawyer at the Starling Sawmill in Fernwood. Carole followed him and worked there as well. They logged their property and built their own home from the trees taken off the property and milled at the sawmill by Dave and Carole themselves. It was quite the adventure as they didn’t even have power on their property when they built their home. He later built his own wood shop and garage with the help of his grandson Tyler. In the early 70’s, Dave raced cars and motorbikes at Meridian Speedway. He and Carole drove pilot cars to move trailer houses. Dave was a Jack of All Trades. He worked as a locksmith, electrician, satellite set-up and repairman, and computer repairman. He worked for Hughes Home Center repairing TV’s and electronics. Dave and Carole worked on and off for 30+ years for the Gazette Record picking the newspapers up from print, assembling them, and tagging them with address labels. He enjoyed rock hounding, making jewelry, attending craft shows, and volunteer work specifically spending time working at the Fernwood Food Bank, picking up supplies and distributing them. He also served as a Hospice Caregiver and dedicated over 20 years as the President of the Riverside Cemetery in Santa. Dave had a huge heart and a contagious smile that would brighten anyone’s day. As an animal lover, he was famous for bringing home all sorts of stray animals. His loss is felt by his family, friends, and community. Dave is survived by his wife Carole and their home in Fernwood; children Robert Haley of Caldwell, ID, David (Jerry) Haley of California, Bill (Zeta) Haley of Fernwood, ID, Charlotte (Rob) Johnson of Spokane, WA, Tyler (Jamie) Haley of St. Maries, ID, Dkota Haley of Colorado, Coby Haley of Fernwood, and Jessie Haley of St. Maries, ID; sister Shiran (John) Berham of Nampa, ID; 27 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and children Robin Janicek and Don Jessen. A gathering to celebrate Dave’s life will be at a later date.