Guyla Fenicottero

Guyla June Fenicottero passed away on March 26, 2025. Guyla was born on December 16, 1935, in Cecil, OR, to Mildred and Charles Chandler. When she was a toddler, her family moved to Vale, OR, to homestead acreage. They soon established a dairy there, which operated for many years. Growing up in a house with boards up the wall and dirt floors, it was a rough go in the beginning. She and her five siblings grew up finding inventive ways to entertain themselves on the property, including riding horses and roasting potatoes from the outdoor fires of burning sagebrush they had cleared. Guyla and her good friend Lucille shared many fun adventures and memories.

In later years, Mom noticed a “pretty boy” at the local skating rink, and they hit it off. Carlo Fenicottero soon became her sweetie, and they married on July 4th, 1954, on a scorchingly hot day. Mom and Dad began their family in the sweet setting of Payette, Idaho, but eventually joined Grandma and Grandpa Feni on the family farm in Ontario. Mom immersed herself in this immigrant experience and gleaned so much from their lives. She regaled us with hilarious stories about this Italian (she always pronounced it “eye-talian”) family.

There were countless times when Mom had to spell out the name Fenicottero. “F as in Farmer” was how she always started, and farming became their life. Guyla and Carlo worked tirelessly to make a go of the farm and provide for their six children. Tapping into the experience of their childhoods, they instilled the value of hard work in their kids. Mom sewed clothes for us, cut our hair, managed a large garden, laid in canned foods and preserves, and cooked amazingly yummy food for decades while Dad held a full-time job with serious travel time, all while farming and even, for a short time, tending dairy cows. They worked VERY hard.

Guyla not only wrangled six kids on the farm but multitudes of farm animals; keeping everyone alive and healthy was no easy feat. She was fascinated with Araucuna chickens and was featured in the local paper tutoring a student who was interested in this breed of chicken. Numerous dogs and cats also held a special place in her heart. Zeke was her trusty gopher hunter and irrigating buddy and Mama Cali, her beloved calico cat and companion. Once the demands of farm life receded, she devoted a great deal of her time making gorgeous quilts and delighted in giving them away. Mom was generous to the point of hilarity, pushing us to take things she had made or ordered on every visit.

Mom always spoke her mind, telling it like it was; you always knew where she stood. She had a great sense of fairness and taught us the difference between right and wrong. She loved reading a wide variety of books and kept abreast of current events. She would tell the most entertaining stories with her keen sense of humor, and she loved a good laugh. Her natural and adept skills at cooking and baking were to be admired, and many of her kids gleaned a bit of that flair from her. Nothing topped the experience of coming home from school to the smell of her delectable cinnamon rolls wafting through the house.

Once you won her trust, she was very sociable; even when she was annoyed with some folks (doctors come to mind), she would give them a pass, saying, “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown”. Guyla had a very full life, and she will be deeply missed.

Her six children, nine grandkids, and numerous great-grandkids thank you and all her kind caregivers as we honor her in loving memory.

Funeral services will be held at Haren-Wood Chapel in Payette at 1 PM on Monday, April 14, 2025.  . Graveside service will be held at Rosedale Memorial Gardens in Payette following services.