Rene Alvice Burkhalter

Rene Alvice Burkhalter left this earth peacefully Thursday May 1, 2025, at the age of 97. He died from old age on the same homestead in Castleford where he was born on April 26, 1928. He was the last of 6 children born to Frederick Burkhalter and Lucy Louise Lang, joining siblings Fredrick, Lucie, John, Elmer, and Irma.

During his youth, he attended school at Castleford. When he finished 8th grade, his father asked him to help run the farm and dairy instead of continuing on to high school. Rene, who was always respectful to his parents and saw their need for assistance, agreed to do so. Farming then was a lot of work, with the equipment being pulled by draft horses, so many stories were told of hitching up the horses and walking behind them in the field.

As Rene became a young adult he followed the tradition of most Castleford area youth, heading into Buhl on the weekend evenings for entertainment. His friend, Arlee Partin, was dating Jolee Cullimore, and one of her best friends happened to be Louise Claire Uptain. Rene was introduced to Louise, and well, the rest is history. They were married November 29, 1950 at the Clover Trinity Lutheran Church and lived next to Rene’s parents, helping with the farm. In the winter time, Rene also worked in Buhl at Rangen’s feed mill to bring in enough money to support his family. Early in their marriage, Rene received some extra money and proudly announced to Louise that he was given a choice to buy the dairy cattle from his father, but he was going to buy a truck and haul for a living. Louise firmly told him “you take that money right now and go tell your Dad you are buying the cows”. Rene farmed and milked Holstein cows from then on and built a good life doing so. He and Louise continued to reside on the same property their entire lives. To this union were born 5 children: Rocky, Belle, Jeffrey, Christy, and Rebecca.

Rene was a lifelong member of the Clover Trinity Lutheran Church congregation, faithfully serving as an elder and a member of the Lutheran Layman’s League. His parents were some of the early members of that church who migrated from Nebraska to the newly opened Clover tract. He and Louise were also members of the Christian Motorcyclist’s Association in their later years, and Rene proudly rode a red Honda Gold Wing while Louise rode a Harley. Rene served a good portion of time as the Road Captain for the Twin Falls Chapter. They participated in many CMA events and shared the gospel wherever they went. Rene loved camping, riding motorcycles, four wheelers, hunting, and spending time with Louise, his children and grandchildren. Rene was a hard worker, getting up at 3 a.m. most of his life to milk the cows, feed, irrigate and harvest the fields. Although he was very busy, he often helped others with farming or whatever project he was asked to assist with. Rene loved a good laugh and had some moments of mischief as a youth, as well as playing a few jokes on others as an adult. He also had a musical side, being able to pick up tunes by ear. He could play the harmonica, pick out some songs on the piano, and could sing pretty fair too. All his children and grandchildren can tell you stories of him singing “Rye Whiskey”, “Jimmy Crack Corn” and “My Little Gray Snookie” to them. He could fix or build just about anything and passed on these abilities to his posterity. Most of his life he had a faithful dog to accompany him around the farm, a few of them able to ride along on the motorcycle to go irrigating. Apparently, he liked the name “Jack”, because he had more than one dog with that name.

Rene is survived by his wife, Louise Burkhalter; children, Belle (Stan) Miller, Jeffrey Burkhalter, Christy (Lou Ann) Burkhalter, and Becky (Lon) Montgomery; as well as 16 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren; and 2 great - great grandchildren; as well as several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; all his siblings; grandson, Christopher McCarrel; great-granddaughter Megan Burkhalter; and son Rocky Burkhalter.

Rene will be dearly missed but we are grateful he is in the loving arms of Christ, fondly waiting until the day we can all be together again.

Funeral service will be held at 12:00 pm, with a viewing beginning at 11:00 am, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at the Clover Trinity Lutheran Church 3552 North 1825 East Buhl, Idaho. Burial will immediately follow the funeral service at the Clover Trinity Church Cemetery.

Memorial tributes may be made in Rene’s name to the Clover Christian School 3552N 1825E Buhl, ID 83316 https://www.cloverchristiansch.org/suppot or the Christian Motorcyclist’s Association https://cmausa.org/Donate/Donate. The family would especially like to thank St. Luke’s Home Care and Hospice for their loving support for Rene.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on Rene’s memorial webpage at www.farmerfuneralchapel.com.