Godfrey, Adrian (1918-2011)

Dates

• Existence: 1918 - 2011

Biographical Note

Adrian Clarence Godfrey was born in Chester, Idaho on October 12, 1918, to Orville and Elizabeth Godfrey. At age five he moved with his family to Emmett, Idaho. As the fifth child in a family of nine during the Great Depression, he helped the family produce income through picking fruit, milking cows, and helping on forest fire crews. He enjoyed art, music, and writing; while attending Emmett High School he was the first violin in the orchestra and was director of the junior high orchestra. He also participated on the debate team and was student body president. His father was a master carpenter, and at 16 he began apprenticing under him learning to build houses. He used the money earned through his apprenticeship to pay tuition at the University of Idaho for a semester, and then at Idaho State University.

He married Annamary Beryl Seaman on August 28, 1939; they would have five daughters together. Soon after the birth of his first child, he left college and the family moved to Ogden, Utah. He found success after starting a company building wooden toys until enlisting in the Army in 1944 where he worked as a radio operator for the 13th Armored Division and aided in liberating concentration and POW camps in Bavaria. After returning from his service overseas, he moved his family to Boise, Idaho. He sold office supplies, his family continued to grow with the birth of his third daughter, and he continued to pursue his passion for music by joining the Boise Philharmonic and Boise Elk's Gleemen.

He took a job as the manager of WestCraft, a woodworking company. In 1959 he began managing another woodworking company, Hallack and Howard, which lead to the family relocating to Denver, Colorado. Boise Cascade purchased Hallack and Howard in 1965, and Adrian and his family moved back to Boise. In 1969 he became the manager of Boise Cascade’s Housing Division, where he worked for 20 years until his retirement.

After retiring, Godfrey published a book of poetry in 2000, and played in several symphony orchestras as well as continuing to sing in the Boise Elk’s Gleemen. He was a founding member of the Meridian Symphony in 1990 and continued to play violin until 2010 at the age of 91.

Adrian Godfrey died on February 21, 2011.

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