Ron Dean Searle

Ron Dean Searle passed away on September 15, 2025, following a year and a half battle with cancer. He was born April 1, 1956, to Dean and Marelene Searle in Shelley, Idaho. He was the oldest brother to three younger siblings, Tracie, Tony, and Sue. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as a young man served a mission to Lima, Peru, where he learned Spanish – a skill he used the rest of his life. He served as a bishop, a member of the high council, and in various other church callings, but the ones he loved the most were the ones that allowed him to work with young people.

Ron met his lifelong love at Ricks College – Dayle King – and the two were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on August 25, 1978. Together they had six children. Ron was a fun husband and father, notorious for singing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” to wake his family when the sun came up and eating ice cream right out of the carton with his kids when the sun went down.

Ron was a potato farmer for decades and later became the transportation director for the Shelley School District, before retiring in 2021. He loved his school bus kids. He was involved in scouting for most of his life and was the recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. For Ron scouting wasn’t about awards; he loved scouting for the opportunity it gave him to work with and mentor young men.

After retirement, Ron and Dayle served an LDS mission together to Mexico, where Ron used his Spanish and Dayle used her gift for writing to help support the Church’s communication department in the Mexico Area.

Ron accomplished a lot in the 69 years we were blessed to have him on this earth, so it’s hard to sum up that time in just a few paragraphs, but there are a few things we want to ensure are memorialized:

. Ron was a great card player and once bid and took six books on a hand of seven in Mormon Bridge.

. Ron had twenty grandkids who thought he was the best papa in the world because he made great pancakes, wrestled with them, taught them to ski, never said no, and always took the blame when something went wrong.

. Ron spent 47 years with his best friend, Dayle, and adored her as much the day he left this world as the day he married her.

. Ron played a key role in getting Giving Machines in Mexico, the first time they were in a non-English speaking country.

. Ron was honored to be asked to be the Grand Marshall for the Spud Day parade this year. Unfortunately, he passed away a few days too soon to be in the parade, but he loved his hometown of Shelley, Idaho, and was a Russet his whole life, through and through.

. Ron had a deep faith in God and love for Jesus Christ. That faith was best manifest in the way he treated people. He was a friend to everyone, and a father figure to many.

Ron’s loss is felt deeply because of the ray of hope, joy, and fun he brought everywhere he went. If you knew and loved Ron, his family would ask that you honor his memory by choosing to speak a little kinder and show a little more compassion to someone today. He would have loved to know he left this world a little kinder.

Ron is survived by his wife Dayle; children Lalove (David) Foster, Dallin (Jackie) Searle, Brock (Amy) Searle, Madilyn (Nick) Merrick, Colby (Sydney) Searle, and Preston (Jessica) Searle; his three siblings, Tracie (Keith) Knowlton, Tony (Jacquelyn) Searle, and Sue (Darren) Forman; and twenty grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Dean and Marlene Searle.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, September 22, 2025 at the Shelley South Stake Center, 675 South Milton. The family will receive friends Sunday evening from 6:00 till 7:30 p.m. at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 W Oak Street and Monday morning from 9:30 a.m. till 10:30 a.m. the church. Burial will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery.

Those who would like to participate in the funeral service remotely are invited to view the service on a live broadcast at the following link:

https://zoom.us/j/99584424579

*