Former lawmaker dies, remembered as ‘serious, thoughtful’ man who was protective of Idaho’s water

REXBURG – A former state lawmaker from eastern Idaho passed away earlier this week.

Dell Raybould of Rexburg, died peacefully of natural causes on Thursday. He was 89.

His granddaughter, Britt Raybould, who now occupies the same seat he once held in the House of Representatives, describes Dell as a “serious and thoughtful” man who had a great sense of humor and “was really focused on making the best use of the time and resources that he had.”

“His sense of humor was kind of dry and there were moments when he’d say something and you’d pause for a minute because you weren’t quite sure if he was serious or not,” Britt tells EastIdahoNews.com. “He’d give you a wink and a nod and was one of those individuals who woke up everyday with a purpose.”

Dell was born Oct. 8, 1933 and grew up working on the family farm in Sugar City, according to his obituary.

During his teenage years, he rented land so he could earn enough money to buy a car and pay for college. After graduating from Madison High School in 1951, he attended Ricks College. He and his brother, John, bought their grandmother’s farm in Hibbard and formed Raybould Brothers Farms.

After marrying Vera Mae Mortensen in 1955, they moved to the farm, where they worked and raised their family together.

Farming was Dell’s passion, and Britt has fond memories of working with him on the farm during spud harvest.

“Depending on whether or not we had help, he would be the one who was in the potato harvester and I would be in the potato truck getting a load of potatoes. He had a really particular way that he liked truck drivers to load potatoes. He wasn’t shy about letting them know if he thought they weren’t doing it right,” Britt recalls. “I never had any problems loading potatoes (when I worked with him).”

Dell was a leader in the potato industry, his family says. He served in different Ag-related positions on the state and national level and even developed equipment and parts “when he couldn’t find exactly what he needed.”

“He sold some of his designs and held three farm machinery patents,” his obituary says.

He also launched two businesses in Madison County. One of them was Tri County Equipment, a farm implement store, and Sun-Glo of Idaho, a potato processing plant and fresh pack facility.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dell was a deeply religious man, according to Representative Jon Weber, who attended church with him.

Britt says her grandfather was “service-oriented” as a result of his faith, and that motivated him to get involved in the community as well.

“He wanted things to continue to be positive and (he believed) that if you want to have good outcomes in the community, you needed to participate in the (political) process,” says Britt.

As a lifelong farmer, Dell was protective of Idaho’s water resources. He was a member of the board for the Consolidated Farmers Canal Company for 68 years and in 2000, was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time. He served in that capacity for 18 years before stepping down in 2018.

Weber served as a Madison County Commissioner when Dell was in the Legislature. He felt Dell had “a great ability to work with others” and was “well versed in water issues.” He considers Dell’s active involvement in water issues as his greatest political achievement.

“That’ll be his legacy, I think. When people mention Dell Raybould, the (first thing they’ll think of) is Idaho water,” Weber says.

Britt agrees, saying her grandfather led the way “in ensuring Idaho had a strong foundation for protecting and managing our water.”

“He never wavered from that during his service,” she says.

Weber had many personal interactions with Dell and he says Dell always had “a firm handshake and a smile” and was “deeply faithful to his religion.”

“That’s a side of him that many people didn’t see or experience,” Weber says.

Britt, who is in her second term as a District 34 representative, says her grandfather’s example of public service played a role in her decision to run for office. She hopes she can emulate his example in her personal and political life.

“He was a good man,” Britt says, choking up. “His family loved him and he’ll be missed.”

Dell is preceded in death by his parents, wife, sister, brother, and two granddaughters. He leaves behind a son, two daughters, as well as 14 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

His funeral will be held Monday, March 6 at the Henrys Fork Stake Center. It’s scheduled for 1 p.m. There will be a viewing on Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and at noon on Monday.

The House of Representatives’ floor session is postponed Monday so that legislators can attend the funeral.

Read Dell’s obituary here.