By Eric Valentine
June gloom took on a new meaning for three Bellevue families this month and the many friends and acquaintances of the women who spent years in the Valley supporting local causes, befriending others, and putting smiles on faces here. June 21 saw the passing of Rita Hurst, 88. And the next day, Teresa Bergin, who had just turned 90, died in Boise. The month began with the death of Bellevue resident Gail Davis, 76.
Teresa Bergin
Born in Hailey to parents Clara (Parsons) and Johnnie Walker, Bergin was the daughter of a miner and the sister to older brothers. She developed her vibrant and outgoing personality at an early age as she spent her youth exploring the Wood River Valley, a valley that her family called home since the 1880s.
Two years after graduating from Hailey High School, she married Joseph Bergin, in 1949, whose calm demeanor was a perfect contrast to Teresa’s spirited personality. Together they raised six children and ran the family businesses. Teresa was an active parishioner at the Catholic Church in Hailey, a volunteer at the Bellevue Museum, and a member of the Bellevue City Council. All of her life, she was a fervent Democrat, active in local politics known for always saying what she thought and always being willing to stand up for others and fight anything she saw as an injustice.
She was preceded in death by her husband Joe, her daughter Rosemary, and her brothers John and Ken Walker.
The family wants to thank Vee Peterson, Betty Ann Mummert and Vicki Walker, who made it possible for Teresa to stay in her home as long as possible. The family also thanks the staff at The Terraces of Boise for their loving care of Teresa.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 28, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Hailey, with internment in the Bellevue Cemetery. The family suggests donations to the Wood River Land Trust, the Bellevue Museum, or a scholarship fund set up in memory of Rose Bergin at the D.L. Evans bank in Hailey.
Rita Hurst
Rita Hurst was born in 1930 to May and George Green of Hailey, and moved with her mother and stepfather, Walter Wade, to Beaver Creek in the Sawtooth Valley in 1936. Her father built the Beaver Creek Store, and owned the surrounding 10 acres, where the family ran a logging company, providing timber for the mines and sawmills and supplying power poles to the local utilities.
Rita married Arthur Hurst in 1953. The couple bought the timber operation from Rita’s folks and continued to log until 1958. They also tended sheep, living out of sheepwagons at times.
“I didn’t need to do it, but I loved it. I liked the smell of the pines and being my own boss,” Hurst once said.
Eventually, Art and Rita moved to Bellevue and ran the Bellevue Café for several years, luring customers in with her homemade cinnamon rolls. Off and on for over 20 years Rita also worked at the Silver Dollar Saloon. In the 1960s, she opened an antique and thrift store in one of the oldest houses in Bellevue. She ran Rita’s Thrift Shop near the bike path that runs through Bellevue until the 1990s.
Rita was honored to be selected as Woman of the Year and to be part of the Heritage Court in 2009. For 19 years she rode her horse in the Bellevue Labor Day Parade and was grand marshal in 2018. When Rita could no longer operate the thrift store, she still kept busy in her later years, frequenting yard sales looking for more treasures for her home and yard.
Snippets of Rita’s colorful life over the summit can be found in the book, “Galloping Ghost of Galena,” by Pete Wyman.
There will be no funeral or memorial service. Friends are invited to leave condolences at woodriverchapel.com.
Gail Davis
Gail Davis was born Feb. 7, 1943, in Wendell. She was the daughter of Delbert and Madge Ovard. She moved to the Wood River Valley with her parents in 1947, and attended schools in the Valley.
Gail was well known in the Valley, having worked at various jobs here through the years, ending with construction cleanup after she met and married Richard “Rick” Davis. They married April 23, 1971, but separated 12 years ago and were recently divorced.
Preceding her in death were her parents, Delbert and Madge Ovard, and two brothers, David Ovard and Delbert Ovard, Jr. In accordance with Gail’s wishes, private family services are planned.