Leonard Norman Tolman

(January 11, 1936 - March 17, 2024)

BANCROFT, IDAHO Leonard Norman Tolman passed away on March 17, 2024, in Rexburg, ID, with family by his side.  He was born on January 11, 1936, to Leonard and Alice Tolman in Bancroft, Idaho.  His youth was spent working on the farm and enjoying the mountains around that area with his friends.  He had morning chores before heading off to school and took on many responsibilities at a young age helping other farmers as well.

He graduated from North Gem in 1955, attended a quarter at BYU, running on the track team while he was there. He then served in the East Central Mission which included Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maryland. Upon returning he and some friends were at the Logan Temple when he saw Janet Bair working there as a Secretary to the President and his friends dared him to ask her out.  After a short courtship they were married on May 1, 1959, and made their home in Bancroft.

They spent the next many years raising 8 children, Curtis (Ann), Bountiful, UT, Todd (Tammy), Sugar City, ID, JaNel(Brad) Snow, Sandy, U., Sandra Checketts, Providence, UT, Sid, Payson, UT, LuWana (Brian) Hunt, North Logan, UT, Troy (Angie), Bancroft, ID, and Jed (Traci), Chandler, AZ. Janet was able to be a stay at home mom for many of those years, overseeing the family activities, along with work and school schedules.

Many memories include dad creating projects for us around the house and yard which included weeding the massive garden, mowing the massive lawn, feeding all the animals, and picking currents (which many neighborhood kids got roped into helping with for a cheap toy).  Dad also acquired a very large swing and slippery slide that gave us hours of fun in the summer with friends. By adding a hose and plastic "slip-n-slide" to the bottom of it we could cover a lot of ground with a smile on our faces.

Some of dad's hobbies included hunting, beekeeping, fixing things (tinkering), restoring an old Model T-Ford and driving it in the Parade, genealogy trips to SLC before the Family History Centers were created and giving tours at the Chesterfield Townsite.  He also installed Solar Panels before they became popular, and installed a boiler above the fireplace to preheat water before going into the water heater and he also turned an old Ranchero into a big saw to cut up the firewood.

Norman spent many, many years in the scouting program and enjoyed helping a lot of youth receive their Eagle Scout awards. He earned the Silver Beaver Award for his services.  He included the whole family in many of those activities.  We all have memories of going to Lava Hot Springs to swim while the scouts worked on their merit badges. Hiking Haystack was another outing we all enjoyed with the group. And we can't forget the big red canoe that dad repaired and put a motor on the back while the paddles were stored under the seats for a backup.

While being employed at Kerr McGee; a vanadium plant that he helped build and worked at until it was winding down in 1999, he suffered a serious injury (in 1972) burning both his feet and spending many days in the hospital while mom took care of a large family at home.  He was in a wheelchair for many months while the skin grafts healed, he later continued working there as the warehouse manager until his retirement in 1999.

Dad served in many church callings; Membership Clerk, Executive Secretary, Librarian for the Genealogical Library just to name a few.  They volunteered with the Chesterfield Foundation and Caribou County History Society where many of his photos and records were used in the Centennial book "Celebrating life in Caribou County" (1919-2019).  He and mom spent many hours in the Logan Temple before and after serving in the Manila Philippines Temple as a Temple Sealer from 2000-2001.

Dad loved hearing about what his kids, grandkids and great grandkids were doing.  As he got older, he didn't get to spend as much time with them.  The past year he added six great grandkids to his posterity - totaling 40 grandkids and 22 great grandkids.

After the passing of his wife, Janet, Norman remarried and spent four wonderful years with Anna Lee Corbridge Tolman.  They were able to travel and share many experiences over those few short years before she was taken quickly by Pancreatic Cancer.  He later married Trula Millsapps Tolman and they spent most of the four and a half years together in Rexburg, ID, close to Todd and Tammy and Trula's family. They enjoyed visits from family and friends as life slowed down with health issues due to dads aging.

Norman was preceded in death by his parents, Janet (wife), Vern (brother), JoAnn (sister), Wes Manners (brother-in-law), Chris Checketts (son-in-law), and Doug Deakin (grandson-in-law).

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 23rd with the viewing at 12:00 and funeral at 1:30. The burial will be at a later date (as the Bancroft Cemetery is closed due to snow).