Roy Sheldon Stoddard

Our beloved Roy Sheldon Stoddard of Monteview, Idaho passed away January 30, 2026, at the Homestead Assisted Living Center in Rexburg. He was 94.

Roy was born December 5, 1931, to Russell Kenneth Stoddard and Pearl Hendricks in his Grandmother Hendricks’ home in Hibbard, Idaho. He grew up with his brothers and sister, working on his dad’s farms and ranches in Egin, Kilgore, Blue Creek, Porcupine Pass, and Dillon, learning the value of hard work and developing a love of good horses, which he carried the rest of his life.

He met Joan Rasmussen when they were 12 at a Kilgore community dance and they later dated on and off. He attended high school in Dubois and served in the Army in a M.A.S.H. unit just behind the front lines during the Korean War. Roy and Joan wrote letters during the war and were married at her parents’ home in Kilgore June 17, 1953.

They lived in Kilgore, Dubois, Blue Creek, Rigby and the Centennial Valley in Montana. Besides ranching, Roy worked railroad yards, road construction, and produce delivery. Roy and Joan moved to Pocatello, where he graduated in Business Administration from ISU in 1959. He went to work at Argonne National Laboratory, on the site west of Idaho Falls and eventually became Accounting Manager. They moved to Iona in 1961 and Roy kept busy in his spare time breaking and shoeing horses, hunting, and cutting timber for his own corrals and to sell.

Roy and Joan moved to Monteview in 1971 to farm, with Joan teaching school and Roy continuing to work at Argonne. They grew hay and grain and raised cattle. The family enjoyed skiing, camping, fishing, boating, riding horses and 4 wheelers, and the annual Christmas tree outing. Their marriage of gentle teasing and devotion was a model for their 5 children and generations after.

Roy decided to read the Book of Mormon and received a witness of its truth. This changed their lives, with temple sealings, a mission to Nauvoo, and lifelong service and joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ, rippling through generations.

Roy has served as church farm manager, ward financial clerk, High Priest counselor, and temple worker. He particularly enjoyed being a teamster in the Nauvoo mission, working with the horses, giving wagon rides, and bringing back the first oxen since pioneer times. He also served in the boot shop, tin shop, brick yard, blacksmith shop, print shop, visitors’ center, and they both danced and sang in the productions. Their children and grandchildren loved spending time with them there. Their fellow missionaries became lifelong friends. After their mission, Roy ordered a wagon from the Amish and modified it to give many horse-drawn rides, and to serve the fair and rodeo, where they would eventually be grand marshals. After Joan’s passing, he donated the wagon to the Homestead so that the residents could enjoy rides there.

Roy was humble and unassuming, and very easy to talk to. He had a sense of fun which drew people to him his entire life. We will miss his laugh! Roy and Joan gave the gift of optimism to their posterity and looked for the good in people. They loved being able to work with their children and later grandchildren on the farm, and they made the farmhouse a warm and happy place to gather.

Roy is survived by children Shane (Sharon) Stoddard of Kaysville, UT, Traci (Frank) Walker of Deweyville, UT, Ken (Tamaree) Stoddard of West Jordan, UT, Bart (Michelle) Stoddard of Iona, and Matt (Julie) Stoddard of Rigby, brothers Spence Stoddard of Dillon and Gene Stoddard of Meridian, and sister Karleen Shupe of Hamer, 25 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife Joan, parents, brothers Ross Stoddard and Kyle Stoddard, and daughter-in-law Patricia Stoddard.

Funeral services will be Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 11 a.m. at the Monteview LDS church (2413 N 800 E, Monteview, ID). The family will visit with friends and family Friday, February 6, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 pm and Saturday, February 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., both at the Monteview church. Interment will be at West Jefferson Memorial Cemetery in Terreton.