Roy Charles Motichka

ROY CHARLES MOTICHKA Roy Charles Motichka of Boise passed away on Thursday, March 5 with family at his side after a courageous battle with cancer. Viewing will be Tuesday, March 10 at 11 a.m. and memorial service at 1 p.m. at Flahiff Funeral Chapel in Caldwell. Roy was born March 13, 1922 to Charles and Nellie Blanche Motichka at Columbia Falls, Montana. He was the youngest of three children. When he was six weeks old his family moved from the Flathead Valley in Montana to North Fork, Idaho. He attended grade school at Spring Creek School, North Fork. He graduated from Salmon High School in 1939 and continued his education at the University of Idaho 1939-1941 in the field of agriculture and engineering. From 1941-1943 he worked on the family farm at North Fork, fought forest fires at Salmon, attended a sheet metal course at the Salmon National Defense School in Salmon, and later worked in Seattle for the defense department and subsequently was called to duty in the United States Army during World War II. He served in the US Army from March 1943 to February 1946. In March of 1944, he completed six months of engineering school at Virginia Polytechnical Institute at Blacksburg, Virginia through the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP). He belonged to the 334th Infantry Regiment and served in the European Theater of Operations as a military policeman and combat infantryman. In November 1944, he was wounded in combat in Germany. He spent several weeks in military hospitals in England and was transferred via the Queen Mary to a military hospital in Seattle. He received R&R at military hospitals in Vancouver, Seattle & Santa Barbara before being discharged in 1946. He was awarded the rifle expert bar, American Theater of Operations service ribbon, European African Middle Eastern service ribbon, Good Conduct, Purple Heart and Victory medals. On May 22, 1946 he and Bernice were married in Salmon. Between 1947 and 1953 three children were born to them. After farming a few years in Salmon they moved to the Treasure Valley, residing in Middleton, Nampa and Caldwell. In 1963 he went to work for the US Postal Service in Caldwell, subsequently retiring in 1988 from the US Postal Service. Following retirement, they moved to Donnelly. Roy was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing, hunting, and camping; his hobbies included gardening, cooking, canning, picking chokecherries and huckleberries and square dancing. He is survived by his wife of Boise; a son Allan Dexter (Maggie) of Augusta, West Virginia and a daughter Gerry Layne (John) Weeks of Camas, Washington; 7 grandchildren, Roxanne Motichka of Monroe, Michigan; US Navy Lt Jeffrey (Erin) Motichka, Spring Valley, California; US Navy HM1 John (Clovis) Motichka of Gaithersburg, Maryland; Jennifer Motichka of Kuna, Idaho; Shawna (Ron) Fross of Kuna, Idaho; Marcella (Ryan) Frasier of Kuna, Idaho and Janet Weeks of El Paso, Texas; 10 great grandchildren; two sisters, Blanche Neal of Everett, Washington and Ada Ruth Colwell of Boise, Idaho; Brother-in-law and wife, Florin (Mitzi) Beller of Salmon, Idaho; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a son (Rodney Roy). The family is extremely grateful for the compassionate care and support provided by the staffs of Hillcrest Retirement & Assisted Living, Horizon Home Health Hospice, St. Luke's Hospital, Boise VA Hospital, and Boise Good Samaritan Rehab. Service Information