Rex Clifford Roberts

Rex C. Roberts passed quietly and peacefully from mortality to the spirit world on April 8, 2025, at his home in Buhl, Idaho with family at his side. He was 98 years old.

Rex Roberts was born in Grouse Creek, Utah, on September 6, 1926. He was the 9th of 11 children raised in a two-room house built of railroad ties. He survived all of his siblings. His parents were Hugh Roberts and Louisa Kimber Roberts. Rex completed the ninth grade in Grouse Creek, which was as far as he could go without boarding out. He worked on ranches in the area while growing up and after finishing school. Rex was drafted into the army in 1944 and was on Okinawa when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. He served the remainder of his commitment on guard duty in Korea and was discharged in 1946.

After his discharge, Rex worked as a cowboy. He spent the winter of 1948-1949 feeding cattle and sleeping in an unheated shed in Lamoille, Nevada. He always claimed they had 40 days in a row of 40 below zero temperatures that winter, which led him to look for something better to do. Rex attended the Oregon Technical Institute in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and received a certificate in Mechanics in 1950. He owned and operated Montello Garage in Montello, Nevada, from 1950 to 1953 where he met his bride-to-be Patty Dean. They Eloped in Elko, Nevada, on May 16, 1953, just two weeks before Pat graduated from high school. Rex worked various jobs as a mechanic, truck driver and equipment operator in the early years of their marriage.

Their first child, Gene, and their second child, Shirley, were born in Twin Falls, Idaho, when Rex was a long-haul trucker hauling cows to California and watermelon on the back haul. Trucking kept him away from home too much, so they moved to Garland, Utah, where he worked as a mechanic. Kathy and Blaine were born there, and In 1963 they moved back to Montello where Rex worked on the Gamble Ranch as a mechanic, cowboy, equipment operator and pretty much any job that needed to be done. In 1976 they moved to Diamond Valley, near Eureka, Nevada, where Rex managed a large alfalfa operation and feedlot. In 1979 Rex and Pat’s oldest son Gene passed away in an accident on a nearby ranch. Rex managed several hay and cow operations in the Eureka area until the mid-1990’s.

Rex and Pat retired to their 14-acre property in Buhl, where he raised alfalfa and pasture. He kept some cows and always a horse or two until he couldn’t get around well enough to take care of them. After leasing their land out to a neighbor, Rex kept busy working in the garden and yard.

Rex was an active member in the LDS church. He spent a lot of time with the scouts in Garland camping and fishing, and served as Branch President in the Montello Branch, and also the Eureka Branch. He was also a High Councilman in the Elko Nevada Stake. In 1974 the family was sealed for eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple.

Rex loved to chase mustangs and one of his best saddlehorses was a mustang. He also decided he wanted to fly, so he bought an ultralight when he was in Diamond Valley and learned to fly it. He then bought a real airplane that he found in Oregon and had the owner fly it to Battle Mountain, Nevada, where he went weekly for pilot training. He soloed on February 6, 1988, where they cut the back out of his shirt and put the date on it. Rex was a little miffed about that and offered them an old shirt to cut up, but that wasn’t the tradition. He loved flying his Piper Tri-pacer, and he used it to check on outlying ranches that he managed, to locate cattle for himself and other ranchers in the area, and to visit his kids and gave rides to his grandkids.

Rex is survived by his eternal companion, Patty, of Buhl, Idaho; daughters, Shirley (Don) Port of Troy, Idaho and Kathy (John) Duncan of Ely, Nevada; son, Blaine of Paul, Idaho; as well as 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Aside from his parents and 10 siblings, he was preceded in death by his oldest son, Gene.

Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 pm, with a visitation from 11:30 am until 12:30 pm, Friday, April 25, 2025, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1001 Fair Ave, Buhl. Burial will conclude at 11:00 am, Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Grouse Creek Cemetery, 11850 Grouse Creek Road, Grouse Creek, Utah, 84313.

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