Elvira Belle ‘Becky’ DeYoung

 Elvira Belle “Becky” DeYoung, formerly of Lewiston, Idaho passed away peacefully in a Weiser Care Center on Friday, April 10, 2026.

 Becky was born to Mack and Elsie (Breeze) Blakeley on Dec. 21, 1944, in Lewiston.

 Sis (as her family affectionally called her) joined elder siblings Winona (Noni), Archie and  McKinna (Mack) and welcomed their brother Norman 18 months later.

 The Blakeley family made their home in various areas around the Lewis Clark Valley and up the Clearwater River in the '30s and '40s, finally settling on 14th Street in the Lewiston Orchards.  

 Mom attended the local Lewiston schools and married Kent DeYoung in 1969. She was one of the first Blakeley’s to move out of the LC Valley when our family of 6 moved for dad’s work first to Bend, Ore., in 1971 and then back to Idaho, landing in Weiser, in 1975. Other than a couple of years living in Caldwell, it’s here that mom raised us four kids and made this small farming community her permanent home.

 No stranger to hard work, soon after arriving in Weiser mom was driving sugar beet, potato and onion truck for various farmers during harvest.  She drove school bus and later did dispatch work for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Mom got her real estate license in the early '80s and had a rewarding career as an agent in the Weiser area for a number of years.  But the memories of the cooking skills and recipes she learned from her own mother, grandmother and aunts as a youth got the best of her and she opened Elvira’s restaurant in Weiser in the early '90s. Mom truly shined in the kitchen and socializing with people; you were never a stranger once she met you. Everything she cooked both at home and at the restaurant was always made from scratch.  And for those of us who had the (pleasure?) of going with her to other restaurants to eat later in life, we know how passionate and picky she was about food being prepared and served correctly!  

 Mom could garden, shoot, fish, cuss, smoke and drive with the best of ‘em.

 Becky stood for one thing: That you knew exactly where she stood.

 As a young adult, mom was a 5’ 5” slender, black haired, blue-eyed beauty that was full of fire and adventure. Her eyes – always the tell all of her mood – never lost their clarity or piercing ability; they were the mirror of her soul right up until she passed.  

 Mom was so very proud of her many grandkids and great-grandkids. She saved and saved to make sure all of the newborns in the family got a few bucks to start a bank account with and always sent $2 bills for their birthdays.  

 Sis loved visiting with friends and family and taking drives in the country. As she grew less mobile in later years, she converted those personal visits to phone calls and kept track of family through social media. 

 She had eyes in the back of her head and likely never asked us kids a question she didn’t already know the answer to. All of our childhood friends were her kids, too.  And that meant they could (and did) get a butt chewing just as quickly as one of us could. 

 Becky was preceded in death by her parents Mack and Elsie, sister Noni, brothers Archie and Mack and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and dear friends.  

 She is survived by her brother Norm (Barb) Blakeley of Sterling, Alaska; her three daughters Dawn (Kevin) Hutchings of Smelterville, Idaho; Lorri Nakamura (Troy Mock) and Billie Jo (Berto) Reyes, both of Weiser; and a son Mack DeYoung, of Boise. Sixteen grandchildren – Joshua, Brandon, Lyndsey, Destiny, Adam, Meggan, KaeLyn, Kenny, Kyle, Cole, Emily, Brady, Quinn, Derrick, Syndee and Jade; 19 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandkid, multiple cousins, nieces and nephews.

 A remembrance for Becky will be held on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 11 a.m. at Thomason Funeral Home in Weiser with a repast immediately following at the Reyes residence at 598 W. Indianhead Road.  

 Mom will be laid to rest with her sister in Orofino, Idaho. There will be no graveside services.

 The family would like to extend a huge thanks to our family and friends who supported us and visited mom during the past few months. We’d especially like to thank the entire staff at Weiser Care of Cascadia for the thoughtful, kind care they gave mom during her stay there. We know you perform your duties not for want of money, but from your hearts and for the compassion and genuine care you have for people.