On Thursday, June 27, 2024, the Idaho Sheepherder departed to be with the Great Shepherd of green pastures and still waters. What a capacious legacy with volumes of stories he has left for us to treasure.

From true pioneer stock — Pauline Fyke, born in Wetonka, S.D., and Roy Stroschein, born in Bosler, Wyo., came their first born, Tommy Sherrill Stroschein, on July 26, 1937, in American Falls, Idaho. His mama told him it was the popcorn she ate the night before at the movies in Idaho Falls that prompted him to make his grand entrance into the world. We laughed when we found the $37.50 hand-written hospital receipt tucked away in his baby book that paid for his delivery and a mandatory two-week stay in the hospital.

Tom was incredibly proud of his German Hohenzollern heritage, and even more proud of the things his father accomplished in his lifetime with only an eighth-grade education. Tom credits his mother who taught in the Sterling and Aberdeen Schools over 30 years for being the silent force behind his father’s accomplishments: serving as a member of the Idaho Transportation Board, Aberdeen School Board and the Idaho State Legislature.