Wilda “Babe” Fayle

Babe was born November 1, 1909 at Junction, Idaho which was one mile north of the present town of Leadore. Her parents were Will and Annie Denny Vreeland. She was their only child. She grew up on the family ranch with her cousin, Emma Purcell, who Babe’s parents raised after Emma’s mother passed away. So Babe always had a constant companion. They loved their “Granny Vreeland” dearly and spent many happy times with her. Babe was very active in school and played many sports. She graduated from Leadore High School with the class of 1929. At the time of her death she was the last living person born at Junction and the oldest graduate of Leadore. She lived her entire life in Lemhi County.

Babe married William ‘Bill’ Fayle on August 29, 1930. Four children were born to this union, Leroy, Dale, Billy and Loree. Babe and Bill raised their family and ranched in Leadore all of their married lives. They enjoyed ranch life and had many happy summers when grandchildren came to visit. Babe always raised a garden big enough to feed the whole neighborhood and spent many hours preserving her bounty. Babe and Bill purchased the ranches from her parents and raised both commercial and registered Herford cattle. Babe, Bill and Loree attended all of their boys’ basketball and football games and continued this tradition on with the grandchildren. As their sons grew up and graduated from high school, Leroy left for college at Moscow, Dale bought the 18-mile Ranch from his parents and Billy went to Pocatello to welding school.

Babe and Bill were longtime members of the Elks and the Cattlemen Associations and enjoyed traveling to all the conventions. Babe, Bill, Dale and his family ranched together for many years and received the coveted “Grassman of the Year” award from the Lemhi County Cattle and Horse Growers Association several times. When Bill passed away in 1973, Billy came home and bought the home ranch and the registered cattle from his mom. Babe stayed on the home place until 1975 at which time she moved to Salmon to be closer to her beloved father “Poppa” who was in his nineties and to help her son, Leroy who had purchased a grocery store there. Her mother had passed a few years earlier. Babe worked at the store until it sold in 1987 and she retired at the tender age of 78 to a life of fun. Babe certainly knew the value of hard work and instilled a solid work ethic in her boys and grandchildren.

While in retirement she was able to do a lot of traveling with family and friends. She saw much of the United States including a couple of trips to Hawaii. She also went on three cruise ship vacations: one down the coast of Mexico, then to the Caribbean and to Alaska. She bowled on a league well into her nineties and she loved to dance. Babe had a wonderful sense of humor and a delightful laugh. She truly enjoyed socializing and really looked forward to going to Senior Citizens, playing bingo, cards and she was always up to any kind of adventure or to travel anywhere, anytime. Leroy taught her to fish for steelhead in her 80s and she really like that. She caught her share of fish and knew every good fishing hole in the Salmon River. She was a member of the Eagles and was very civic minded and would volunteer for any community activity at the drop of a hat.

Babe was a truly devoted mother that dearly loved her family and nothing was more important to her than their well-being. She loved and treated her daughters-in-law as her own. She had so many wonderful friends and she treasured all the special memories they made together over the years. She had a very special friendship with Ruth Smith of Leadore.

Babe celebrated every birthday with a grand party but for her 90th birthday every member of her family showed up for a party at the Eagles and she danced with all of her sons, grandsons, granddaughter’s husbands and great grandsons. She was a beautiful dancer.

Babe broke her hip when she was 95 and had to give up her high heel dancing shoes, which really upset her. Walking with the walker slowed her down some but not much. Over the following year her eyesight deteriorated and she moved to the Discovery Care Centre where she resided until her death. She was still walking with the walker at 101, but the last two years were pretty difficult for her and she was wheelchair bound.

Our family has lost the matriarch of five generations. Babe’s legacy is her family that loves and misses her so very much. She is survived by her sons Leroy Fayle and companion Gayle Pipes, of Salmon, Dale (Judy) Fayle of Pocatello, Billy (Judy) Fayle of Shelley; eight grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 21 great-great grandchildren and Bill’s nephew, Benny Fayle of Hamilton, Montana and niece, Ann Tripp of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Babe was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Poppa and Momma Vreeland; husband Bill Fayle; daughter Loree Fayle; daughter-in-law JoAnn Fayle; granddaughter Tonia Link and two great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Babe’s life was held Wednesday, January 2 at the Salmon Valley Baptist Church on Cemetery Lane conducted by Pastor Mike Palmer. She was laid to rest beside her husband in the McRea Cemetery in Leadore immediately following the funeral service.

Arrangements under the direction of the Jones & Casey Funeral Home of Salmon.

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