Rhea Darlene Carver

Darlene was born April 28, 1943 to her beloved parents, Ida Faye Humphrey McGuigan and Rex Emmett McGuigan, in Kimberly, Idaho on their farm. Her early years were filled with joyful experiences such as caring for her dogs and horses, including her pony, “Lightfoot.”  Mom was a life-long lover of animals, especially dogs. On the farm, they raised cows and chickens and grew fruit and vegetables, and she told us many stories of how her mother and grandmother would can and preserve everything.  They did a lot of sewing too—most clothing and dresses were made by hand and rarely store-bought. Mom learned how to sew at an early age and later made us the most wonderful dresses and outfits.

Sadly, mom’s mother passed away when she was 7, leaving her and her dad heartbroken. After that she was raised by her dad and also went to live with other families at times. Her dear Aunt Bernie and Uncle Vern Anderson in California cared deeply for her, and her Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ray Humphrey in Twin Falls, Idaho also lovingly raised her as if she was one of their own children, along with their daughter, Linda, and son, David. The older generations of these families had lived through the Great Depression, and because of that mom learned to be resourceful, independent, frugal, and hard working—values that stuck with her. Mom was fiercely independent all her life. 

Back in Idaho, she also spent a considerable amount of time with her older half-sister Ruthie, her husband Ralph Scott, and their five boys—her dear but sometimes mischievous nephews, John, Jerry, Mike, Andy, and Greg, whom she often babysat. She loved those boys and their families with all her heart and was so happy when they would come to visit her. Later, after her dad remarried to Jo, mom gained some more half siblings Karla, Karen, Kathy, and Kevin, and she also enjoyed time with them as they were growing up.

Being a teenager in Twin Falls was fun! Mom told us many stories about going to the drive-in and to dances in the flared out 1950s skirts and dresses popular at the time. (After breaking her leg skiing, she had to wear a cast with her beautiful prom dress!) She worked at Radio Rondevoo in Downtown Twin, where she would do a variety of tasks including organizing records for the DJs to spin. She told us about how she had to walk to work in her heels—because back then everyone dressed up to go to work! She went to Twin Falls High and later to “Beauty School” as they called it back then and became a Cosmetologist. During that time, she met the love of her life, Jim Carver, who also went to Twin Falls High. They were married at the Twin Falls Christian Church on September 5, 1962 before their family and friends. We have great photographs of that day that we will treasure forever.  

Jim and Darlene moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where their first two children were born—Amanda (Mandi) Lynn Carver Roberts (married to Steve) and Karinne (Kari) Elizabeth Carver Courtney (married to Michael). After Salt Lake, they moved to the Long Beach, California area in the mid-60s, where they were close to Aunt Bernie and Uncle Vern, and had their third child, Joey James Carver (partner – Darla) in 1970.  Soon after they decided they wanted to raise their children back in Idaho and moved to Boise and then to Eagle in the early 70s. They built their first new house on Floating Feather Road—a Boise Cascade home that cost $20,000! We had an idyllic life there on a small acreage where we had chickens, sheep, sometimes horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, and other creatures. Mom lovingly tended an enormous vegetable garden. She had a green thumb and could grow most anything. We enjoyed many great times camping and fishing in the Idaho mountains as kids.

Our mom was really the best mom you could ever have. Because she had lost her own mom when she was so young, she always longed for the opportunity to be a good mother—and by darn, she was just that. She took very good care of us every day and was also a “second mom” for many of our friends over the years. And she also worked hard—at a time when not all moms had careers—our mother did. She had her own beauty shop at our house in Eagle—the “HairBender” – and the stories we could tell about some of the experiences that wove through that hair salon!

Mom loved children immensely, and in a way, she was a child at heart her whole life. She joyfully spent time with her grandsons, Nathan (now married to Katy) and Carson (now married to Kenzie). She was so happy to be able to share time with them as they were growing up, and was so proud of their accomplishments (sports, college graduations, and marriages)—Nate is now a teacher in Everett, Washington and Carson is a firefighter for the City of Boise. She also enjoyed spending time with the kids of her nephews when they came to visit, and many other children she met along the way, including most recently, our young friend, Cora, and mom’s great granddaughter, Lola, who just turned one.

After their family grew up, mom and dad retired, but mom, who liked to stay busy, started another business—“WordWinder”—helping people with word processing and print design projects. She also spent time giving back and supporting important causes she believed in. She was a devoted life-long democrat and spent time supporting many democratic initiatives. Mom loved Idaho and nature, and she was a member of and made donations to the National Park Foundation, Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Idaho Public Television, and other organizations. She also cared very much about the wolves that had been reintroduced in Yellowstone and advocated for protecting them. We invite you to make donations to any of these important causes or organizations in her name.

Eventually, mom found her way to the path of practicing Buddhism through the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) organization, based on Nichiren Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra. This practice is a socially engaging approach to finding inspiration, helping people overcome challenges and build happy, fulfilling lives. She gained several new, dear friends at SGI. Their chant "Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō" aims for inner transformation that creates peace, culture, and education in daily life.

After dad died in 2021 and mom lost her beloved German Shepherd, Sage, in 2024, her heart was broken—literally and figuratively.  Increasingly, congestive heart failure symptoms began to slow her down. We tried our best to get her the care she needed, but complications from aortic stenosis ultimately took her life on January 24, 2026.

We are missing her immensely but are comforted by many family members and friends, and their sentiments and memories of her. As one friend recently said, “Not even heaven will take the Idaho out of her.” We love you mom. Rest easy. We are thankful that you are reunited with dad and your many loved ones in heaven. We’ll be here on earth working hard and doing our best for you every day until we see you again.

Private graveside services will be held at Dry Creek Cemetery under the direction of Accent Funeral Home. Then an open house will be held from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at Crave Kitchen and Bar (165 E. Colchester Drive in Eagle), and everyone is invited to join us during that time to share memories of our dear sweet mom, Darlene, in a Celebration of Her LIfe.