Daniel Harris Mickelson

Daniel was born at home in Lago, Caribou County, ID to Harris Anton Mickelson and Norma Letham, the third child of eleven and the oldest boy. Daniel is survived by his wife, Rose Mary, children: Connie Mickelson, Blaine (Cris) Mickelson, Lenae (Kevin) Manhart, Stan (Juliet) Mickelson, Lettie (Steven) Harrison, (Mandi Sullivan), and Nolan (Marcia) Mickelson, 24 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, sisters: Norma Putnam, Helen Christensen, and Nila Panter.

 When Daniel was very young, the Mickelson family lived on the east side of Gem Valley in Lago. Then in 1936 they bought the Collins farm on the west side of Hwy 34 which was bordered on the west by the Bear River. They called their dairy farm Super View. Daniel learned many valuable skills on the farm including crop farming with horses, dairying, carpentry, cinder block masonry, and irrigation cement work. He also harvested timber from the nearby mountains that was processed in his grandfather’s sawmill, located near Ant Canyon.

 Daniel graduated from Grace High School in 1947 but was not able to attend his graduation ceremonies because of appendicitis. In 1948, Daniel married Ruby Elizabeth Holderness. They had one child, Connie, but later divorced. Daniel then married Rose Mary Gilpin in October of 1956. After their first son, Blaine, was born, Daniel and Rose Mary moved to Basalt, Idaho near where they rented a small dairy and farmland. Lenae and Stan were born there. In 1963, they had the opportunity to buy Raymond “Butch” Swensen’s farm back in Lago. They named their 600-acre farm Dew Vale. Lettie, Shawn, and Nolan were born while they lived there.

 Daniel was a dairy cattle showman for many years and was inducted into the Eastern Idaho Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2012. Besides farming, Daniel loved horses, numbers, fishing (especially with grandkids), brain puzzles, playing “touched you last”, being a trickster, family reunions, county and state fairs, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. He faced challenges with grit and determination. Even with great difficulty, he moved forward after devastating setbacks such as the loss of his son Shawn in a farming accident in 2003. Daniel and Rose Mary moved to Grace in 2003 and lived there until 2022. Daniel and Rose Mary lived in Preston from 2022 until the present.

 He was proud of his family, always talking about them and their successes. Daniel’s membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was of great importance to him. He was a dedicated home teacher, a stake missionary, a ward executive secretary, and a long-time temple ordinance worker with Rose Mary. He and Rose Mary were thrilled to be Grand Marshalls of the Caribou County Fair in 2001.

 One of Daniel’s favorite quotes when bidding someone goodbye was “keep on keepin’ on.” Now that he has gone on before us, surely that message would be one he would leave us. Daniel was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, four sisters, and his son, Shawn Mickelson.

 Funeral services will be held in Niter, Idaho on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at 12:00 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints building. Viewings will be held there on Friday 10/18 from 6:00-8:00 pm and Saturday 10/19 from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. Interment will be in the Lago Idaho Cemetery. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at webbmortuary.com