Donald Wayne Puder

Donald Wayne Puder Ph.D., 80 residing at Bridgeview, passed away quietly in his sleep January 1, 2015 in Twin Falls, Idaho after an extended illness. Donald was born July 29, 1934 in Keokuk, Iowa as the only child of Lorenzo D. & Elizabeth L. (Wolfe) Puder. He grew up near the Missouri River & enjoyed fishing & hunting with his father. He graduated from Keokuk High School in 1952. As his parents stressed & fully supported his education he went to Carthage College, Carthage, Illinois completing his BAA degree in education in 1956 & became a teacher. Shortly after college he went on a blind date with his best friend where he met Evelyn K. Fairchild, his future wife. He & Evelyn were married June 9, 1957 & they started their lives together. Don entered the US Army that same year & was stationed in Fort Riley Kansas where his twin daughters were born. He was assigned to the 1st infantry Division known as "The Big Red One" where he served in the Medical Corps. Upon his release from active duty, he continued his teaching career at various places like Iowa, Colorado, Arizona, California (where two more daughters were born one year apart), Oregon, Hawaii, & finally settled in Idaho. During summer breaks from teaching, he often served as a Forest Ranger at several different National Monuments & Forests. In 1974 Don & Evelyn were surprised by the arrival of their first son on New Year's Day, then in 1976 their 2nd son was born. In 1968 he became a professor at the recently established College of Southern Idaho in the Science department. He continued in the Science program at CSI working his way up & becoming head of the Science Department. A position he held until his retirement in 1997. During his tenure as a professor at CSI, he continued his personal education culminating in receiving his doctoral in 1990. Since his retirement Don thoroughly enjoyed when he would run into many of his students that had attended his classes & they would bring him up to speed on their lives & how his classes helped them reach their degrees & better their lives. Church was an integral part of Don's life. He loved teaching the Word of Jesus & playing music. He met many life-long friends through fellowship over the years at many churches. He was last a member of First Southern Baptist Church of Twin Falls. Don enjoyed baseball, hunting, & fishing, camping, traveling with his children, & gardening with his wife. Don & Evelyn celebrated their 50th anniversary in June of 2007 with extended family & many friends. He is survived by his daughters, Carol (James) Steelsmith, Cheryl (Mark) Marks, Mountain Home, ID; Tina (Mike) Dingman, Las Vegas, NV; Donna Jacobsen, Great Falls, MT; & sons James Puder, Dover, OH; & John Puder, Twin Falls, ID along with 9 grandchildren & 8 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Evelyn, his parents & a granddaughter. Memorial services will be held Saturday, January 10th at 2 pm Parke's Funeral Home Twin Falls, ID In Lieu of flowers, the family requests that a contribution be made to a charity of your choice in Don's name.