Wilda B Birch

Wilda B. Birch, age 94, of Idaho Falls, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, surrounded by her children.

Born on March 2, 1932, in Oakley, Idaho, to Raymond Francis and Bertha Hardy Burch, Wilda spent her early years on the family farm. In 1939 the family moved to Heyburn, Idaho, where she began first grade in Burley. She graduated from Heyburn High School in 1950, having played the trombone in the school band. Life on the farm instilled in her a strong work ethic; she helped haul hay, top and weed beets, garden, and harvest. She cherished family trips to the mountains to fish with her sister and three brothers, and she grew up surrounded by cousins and many high school friends. She remembered the fear of World War II airplanes flying overhead from Mountain Home Air Force Base and the rationing of food during those years.

In 1950 Wilda began working as a nurse’s aide at the Burley hospital, where she earned her Licensed Practical Nursing degree. She attended Ricks College for a semester before entering the nursing training program in Idaho Falls, from which she graduated as a Registered Nurse in September 1955. During her training, she corresponded for eight months with Gordon E. Birch, a cousin of her friend who was serving in the Korean War. They met in person on April 6, 1955, when he returned home, and were married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on June 17, 1955. Four children soon joined the family: Linda, Don, Cindy, and Dale.

Wilda later returned to nursing at the hospital and the Idaho Falls Clinic after her children were grown. She remained deeply devoted to her church responsibilities, enjoyed gardening, served in the temple in her later years, and regularly visited her parents in Heyburn. Gordon’s passing on July 1, 2010, left her lonely, yet she drew comfort from her close ties to family and her faith. Though her final years were difficult, she passed on March 8, 2026, welcomed by loved ones who had gone before.

She is survived by her children Linda Smith (Kellan), Don Birch (Linda), Cindy Parker (Craig), and Dale Birch (Lori); 19 grandchildren, 58 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild; and her brother Kent Burch of Firth, Idaho. She was preceded in death by one grandson, two great-grandchildren, one sister, her parents, and two brothers.