Terry Lee Sverdsten, 88

Beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, community leader and friend, Terry Lee Sverdsten, 88, of Cataldo, Idaho, passed away Oct. 2, 2020, at his home of Cataldo. He was born Sept. 8, 1932, at the family farmhouse in Cataldo, a short distance from where Terry most recently resided.

Terry attended and graduated from Kellogg High School. After high school he spent summers logging with his father in order to work his way through college at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. He majored in business management and minored in music. By the end of his second year in college there just wasn’t enough money, so he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Terry spent two years in the Army, serving in the top 10 on the Camp Gordon, Georgia Rifle Team. After serving in the Army, Terry returned to Pacific Lutheran University to complete his degree in business management. During his return he also met the love of his life, Dee Duea, and they were married on Sept. 15, 1957.

Terry and his brothers, Don and Dale, along with their father, owned and operated a family logging business, Sverdsten Logging, for many years. In later years Terry logged with his sons and nephews. After Terry retired from logging he sold sawmill saw blades for Saw Technology for several years. He also lovingly took care of his beloved wife, Dee, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, for the last six years of her life; she passed away March 24, 2016.

From 1980 through 1988 Terry served as Idaho Senator for Legislative Districts 2 and 3. He also served as commissioner for the Eastside Kootenai Highway District for more than 10 years.

Terry was a member of the American Lutheran Church of Kellogg and had taught Sunday school for 28 years at the Lutheran churches in Kellogg and Pinehurst. He served on the Kootenai School District board for six years. He was a member of the Lake City Harmonizers Barber Shop Quartet and Chorus, a member of the Panhandle Division of the Back Country Horsemen, and he served as president of the Intermountain Logging Conference in 1984 and the board of the Silver Valley Fuller Center for Housing, where he faithfully volunteered for several years and was an appointed member to the board of the Idaho Forest Owners Association.

Terry loved and enjoyed his family, cutting firewood, cutting and trimming trees on his tree farm, skidding logs, piling brush and he stayed active in logging until present. Terry hunted until his 70s and had hunted caribou in Alaska with his brother, Don. He also enjoyed fishing and gardening, enjoying his flowers and blueberries, and huckleberry picking.

Terry is survived by one daughter: Lucia (Randy) Anderson of Cataldo; three sons: David (Suzi) Sverdsten of Cataldo, Paul Sverdsten also of Cataldo and Ron (Marie) Sverdsten of Pinehurst; his grandchildren Jeremy, Casey, Chris, Zachary, Stefanie, Ashley, Ben, Sara and Stephanie; many great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Terry was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Dee; one grandson, Todd Sverdsten and two brothers: Dale and Don.

A celebration of Terry’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, at the Sverdsten Home of Cataldo; everyone is welcome.

The family suggests that memorials may be made to the American Lutheran Church, 15 E. Mullan Ave., Kellogg, ID 83837, or to the Silver Valley Fuller Center for Housing, P.O. Box 338, Smelterville, ID 83868.

You may share your memories of Terry and sign his guest book at www.shoshonefuneralservice.com

Shoshone Funeral Services & Crematory Kellogg, Idaho, is entrusted with services.