David Tester’s work ethic included dash of play

David Tester believed that if you can’t laugh, there is no point in living. Family and friends say that he was a man who saw fun and humor in everyday situations and helped those whose lives he touched to see it, too.

Tester died at his home in Hayden on April 12.

Born May 13, 1916, at Oakley, Utah, he was the son of Vernon and Caroline Worthington Tester and spent his growing-up years playing, hunting and fishing in the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City. In the early 1930s he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps where he learned the trade of meat cutter.

During World War II he was a war worker in Hawaii for Morrison-Knudtson. He met and married his wife, Helen, in 1943, and the couple settled west of Big Sandy, Mont., where, for the next 35 years, they lived and farmed a 1,200-acre spread, raising their three sons, cattle and Montana red wheat.

One son, Jon, who still lives near Big Sandy, says his dad always had a soft spot for animals and particularly loved horses. Jon says that his father always had at least three horses around — one for him to ride, one for the kids to ride and one that wasn’t quite ridable yet. During the Montana years, Tester was involved with the Big Sandy Saddle Club and the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Posse.

Over time, Helen Tester had ample opportunity to observe her husband’s ability to laugh, have fun and even create situations in which he could enjoy life to the fullest. Another of his characteristics was that he almost always did pretty much as he wanted, she says.

She remembers one occasion particularly, since it involved Air Force One, when President John F. Kennedy flew into Malmstrom Air Force Base to speak at a function in Great Falls. Tester decided to join the Choteau Sheriff’s Posse when he learned members had been invited to stand guard at the event. “That was the only way he was going to get to see Kennedy,” Helen Tester says.

When the big day came, Tester was there with his horse, a particularly handsome Tennessee walker. Instead of joining his posse in the out-of-the-way spot they had been ordered to guard, Tester sat on his horse right near Air Force One. Kennedy had gone into Great Falls and a woman, a flight attendant on the president’s plane, admired Tester’s horse. He asked her if she would like a ride, she said she would, and he helped her up behind the saddle and took her for a ride on his smooth-gaited walker.

When they got back to the plane, she asked if he would like to have a tour of Air Force One. But there was the problem of what to do with the horse. The attendant called up to one of the president’s staff who was standing in the doorway of the plane and he told the military officer standing at the bottom of the ramp to hold the horse. He did and Tester had his memorable tour of Air Force One.

Life on a Montana ranch is not all fun and games. There is plenty of hard work but Tester could always find fun and laughter along with the work. In addition to farming, the Testers operated a small butcher shop in a 16-by-24-foot building. They did custom cutting for neighbors in a room that held a cooler, meat saws, a boning area for hamburger meat and counters for wrapping the packages.

People who were having their meat cut and wrapped tended to be around while their meat was being processed, determining the size of roasts and other cuts. According to Jon, one day a friend was watching but couldn’t decide whether she wanted a beef shoulder cut into steaks or roasts. The woman couldn’t make up her mind and, after a particularly long silence, David said, “When in doubt, dance.”

Jon says, “Dad took her by the arm and danced her around the small room, and every time the friend hesitated in making a decision he danced her around the room again. It was all very entertaining and went on all day because she had a lot of trouble making up her mind.”

Jon also remembers that his dad was firm in raising his sons. “One time I sassed my mother in the kitchen, and my dad overheard me. I denied it, but he repeated, word for word what I had said. He literally took me to the barn and told me never to sass my mother again and, to reinforce that he planted a firm reminder on my behind.”

Jon, other members of the family and friends say that Tester usually said what he had on his mind, and Jon thinks one of his dad’s greatest attributes was that he was able to get something off his chest and move on. Jon recalls that when he wanted to buy his first new car his dad went with him. Jon had a desirable trade-in which the salesman looked over and took for a test drive.

“He came back and told us it was a piece of junk, which it was not. My dad listened to five minutes of explanation then spoke his mind. By the time he was finished everyone knew where they stood, and the place was empty.

“We got back in the car, and he was perfectly calm, no longer red-faced or the least bit flustered. He told me that there were plenty of other car dealerships in the state. ‘I guess we’ll have to check out some of the other ones,’ he said.”

After moving to Rathdrum in 1978, Tester gradually became involved with the North Idaho Fair. In Montana he had worked with kids and often called wrestling matches. He also enjoyed announcing for the horse shows. He gradually became involved with the fair and ultimately was asked to manage it and other events on the grounds that take place over the year. He held the position from 1978 to 1985.

Friend and former fair board member Joe Dobson said, “It was a time of growth for the fair, and Tester was a fine manager. In fact we often said that he was not just a fair manager but a good manager. Dave always laughed at that.”

Tester loved talking to people, and the job gave him that opportunity. “We would go grocery shopping, and while I was doing the shopping, he was off talking to people who were standing in line or doing their shopping,” Helen says.

His son, David R. Tester, a Coeur d’Alene veterinarian, says of his father, “Most people feel they have to do their work first and then play but my dad believed in having fun first. Life goes by and many who work first never have time left for fun.”

Dr. Tester also says that his dad loved animals and stimulated that love in him as he was growing up, which eventually lead him to the practice of veterinary medicine.

Other doctors and employees of Prairie Animal Hospital remember that it was always a special day when Tester senior dropped by — something he loved to do.

Dr. Mary Widman of Prairie Animal Hospital said Tester was a wonderful man. “When he came into the clinic it was like he brought sunshine along with him and a little of the sunshine rubbed off on everyone he was around. He looked for the fun in the little things. Those things may not have been particularly extra-ordinary but he made them extra-ordinary.”

She said he liked to tease her and other people he liked. He was teasing his daughter-in-law, Becky, when he died.

Over the years he had good-naturedly teased her about being tall She was taller than he was. In his last moment he looked up at her and grinned.

“You are tall,” he said.

Those were his last words. He turned away and, suddenly, he was gone, but the memory of the sunshine remains with those who knew him.