Richard Worden Gouley

Richard Worden Gouley

August 24, 1947 – September 18, 2025

Richard Worden Gouley passed away on Thursday, September 18th, 2025, on his beloved property in Bellevue, Idaho, doing what he loved most: elk hunting in the backyard. He was 78.

Born in Salem, Oregon, Rich spent his early childhood on the world’s largest hop farm in Mabton, Washington before moving to Walnut Creek, California, where he finished growing up. After graduating high school, he attended Louisiana State University, but it was a summer trip to Sun Valley in 1971 that changed everything. He never returned to Northern California, choosing instead to build a life in Idaho filled with adventure, invention, and purpose.

Rich was known for his boundless energy and relentless curiosity. He lived life in high gear, always juggling a dozen projects, always in motion.

From a young age, he was a gifted machinist and go-kart racer, with a knack for fixing anything with moving parts. From the time he was a boy, Rich’s talent for building and engineering was unmistakable. He taught himself everything, whether it was crafting winning go-karts, designing model airplanes, or building intricate model boats. At just 12 years old, he was already modifying his slot car motors by hand, rewinding them to outrun every competitor on the track. He rebuilt suspension systems using strips of aluminum so his cars could flex around corners and smoke the field. That same invention spirit followed him throughout life, he didn’t just fix machines, he reimagined them. If it moved, he could make it move better. If it broke, he could make it stronger. And if it didn’t exist yet, he’d wake up at 5:30 a.m. and build it from scratch. In the 1970s, he became the go-to Volkswagen whisperer in the valley and ran Rich’s Peppertree Auto Repair in Hailey for many years.

He married the love of his life, Kathie Chase, on July 7, 1973, in Hailey. Their 52-year partnership was rooted in devotion, laughter, and shared adventure. His siblings Terry, Peggy, and Barbara Gouley soon followed him to Sun Valley, drawn by the same magnetic spirit that made Rich the life of every party and the heartbeat of every gathering.

Rich was a passionate sportsman, water skier, alpine skier, and white-water rafter. He taught hunter safety, volunteered with Idaho Fish and Game, served on the restoration committee board, and built goose nests with the same craftsmanship he brought to every endeavor. He was a man who could repair, rebuild, or reimagine any piece of equipment and often did, just for the joy of it.

He also had an artistic side: in his younger years, he embraced photography, developing his own film and capturing the landscape world through a lens that saw beauty in motion and detail.

Rich spent the rest of his life on Lower Broadford Road in Bellevue, surrounded by the land, machines, and projects he loved. One of Rich’s greatest masterpieces was the dream home he built for Kathie in Lee’s Gulch, a labor of love crafted entirely by his own hands. From pouring the foundation to laying tile floors, designing custom cabinetry, and carving one-of-a-kind doors, every inch of the house bore his signature precision and artistry. His finishing carpentry was award-worthy, with details so refined they could grace the pages of an architectural magazine. It wasn’t just a home, it was a testament to his devotion, his skill, and his belief that beauty should be built to last. That house stands as a living tribute to the man who imagined it, engineered it, and made it real. His legacy is one of grit and grind, and a life fully lived.

In his retirement years, Rich’s craftsmanship evolved into pure artistry. With time to dream and the tools to create many of which he built himself he let his woodworking talents take center stage. He engineered custom equipment to assist in his creative process, designing jigs, presses, sawmills and specialty tools that allowed him to bring even the most ambitious ideas to life. He produced museum-worthy pieces that blended function with soul: grand kitchen tables that became gathering places, custom mirrors that reflected more than just light, and decor pieces that felt like heirlooms the moment they were finished. Every curve, joint, and finish was intentional, a reflection of the man who saw beauty in precision and possibility in every plank of wood. His creations weren’t just furniture, they were stories, built to last and loved by all who saw them.

He is survived by his wife Kathie, his beloved dog companion Penny, his daughter Amy Snow, son in law Mark Snow, son Chase, daughter in law Jessie and grandchildren Hadley and Ellis, siblings Terry, and Peggy, and a wide circle of friends, neighbors, and fellow adventurers who will forever remember his laugh, his tenaciousness, and his unstoppable spirit.

Celebration of Life: October 11th 2025, 1pm-4pm at 100 Lee’s Gulch Road, Bellevue Idaho.  No dogs please!