Beloved Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and Great-Great Grandmother.
Born Beverly Wiggins on August 17, 1929, she never cared for the name and instead was known to everyone as Maxine.
She was born to Joseph and Dollie (Nelson) Wiggins at their homestead in the Keithley Creek area of Midvale, Idaho.
Maxine and her siblings rode horses to the Shoepeg School until she eventually attended Midvale High School. She married Lewis Leffler and moved to Chicago, where she worked as a switchboard operator- a significant change of pace for a country girl. Lewis and Maxine welcomed two children, Terrill Ilene and Lewis Blaine.
In 1954, Maxine married Harold Byrd, and together they welcomed a son, Harold Lee. Both Harold and Maxine drove school buses for the Midvale School District. Maxine would pick students up on the same route she had once traveled by horseback to school herself.
Harold and Maxine spent the next 47 years enjoying life together in Midvale, rarely missing an opportunity to take their grandkids on vacations or to local rodeos.
Maxine was an exceptionally talented cook, quilter, crocheter and painter. Her creations were absolutely stunning and could rival any professional artist. Well into her mid-nineties, she planted and cultivated gardens that produced beautiful vegetables that she could can and store. Maxine loved to hunt for mushrooms, scan the hills for game and watch her grandchildren play sports or compete in rodeos. Maxine would spend hours playing with dolls with her grandchildren and sewing tiny doll clothes. She was a formidable woman who was a wealth of knowledge about how to live off the land and be a successful homemaker.
Maxine was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Dollie Wiggins: her sister, Genevieve Baker: her brothers, Norman and Edward Wiggins: and her husband, Harold Byrd. She is survived by her children Terrie (Warren) Matthews, Blaine (Judith) Leffler and Harold Lee (Carla) Byrd.
Maxine’s legacy will live on in her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
The family extends our sincerest gratitude to Heart N Home Hospice for their exceptional love and care.
Please join us on Monday June 22nd, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. for a celebration of life at Thomason Funeral Home 221 East Court Street Weiser, Idaho
Burial will be at a later date.
