At Kempthorne’s funeral, Dad and Pop Dirk remembered along with the public servant
He lived to serve, taking on the title of mayor, U.S. senator, Idaho governor and presidential Cabinet official.
To his children, former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne was simply “Dad,” though.
And above all, his family, friends and those who knew him said they will remember how compassionate and kind he was — and that when you were in converstion with him, “he was fully there.”
Hundreds of people filled the pews at Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise on Saturday morning for a funeral service to remember Kempthorne, Idaho’s 30th governor.
Kempthorne, 74, died on April 24 after announcing last year his diagnosis of colon cancer. Saturday was the second day of ceremonies held to commemorate his life and legacy. On Friday, He was honored at the Idaho Capitol with the traditional lying in state ceremony. Kempthorne’s casket was in the first floor rotunda, providing an opportunity for the public and officials to pay respects.
Dirk Kempthorne was more than his titles
Following an opening prayer and reading by the Rev. Duane Anders, seven people spoke during Kempthorne’s service, reminiscing on his life and sharing memories of their friend, colleague and family member.
The speakers were Gov. Brad Little, Sen. Mike Crapo, former chief of staff to Kempthorne Phil Reberger, close friend Greg Casey, wife Patricia Kempthorne, and their two children, Jeff Kempthorne and Heather Kempthorne Myklegard.
As he did Friday, Little shared memories of meeting Kempthorne when they were college students at the University of Idaho. He said Kempthorne had a “genuine love of people (and) believed leadership should improve lives.”
“None of us could have fully known where life would lead, but looking back now, it’s easy to see that public service was already in Dirk’s blood,” the governor said.
A longtime friend of Kempthorne’s and chief of staff during his governorship, Reberger said Kempthorne, who was deeply caring, was a friend to everyone. He would “remember every person’s name, story, family, the things that mattered — not out of obligation, but because he genuinely cared,” Reberger said.
In his farewell speech to his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, Kempthorne read the name of every member of his staff in the Senate over his six-year term because “that might be the only time these names would appear in the congressional record,” Reberger shared.
Kempthorne’s achievements were extraordinary, but Reberger added that those titles don’t fully capture the man he was.
“While the world came to know him as Mr. Mayor, senator, governor and Mr. Secretary, those titles never changed who he was at his core,” Reberger said. “They simply gave him a bigger stage on which to be the same kind, thoughtful, authentic, personable fellow we all know.”
He was Dad and Pop Dirk
Heather Kempthorne Myklegard said her family cherished the words many people spoke about her father, and said the children shared the same sentiment: “He made you feel understood, encouraged and important.”
She said that was her father’s gift.
“My dad had this incredible curiosity about people. He didn’t just meet you, he saw you,” she said. “It didn’t matter who you were, where you came from or what your title was. When he talked to you, he was fully there. He wanted to know your story, your ideas, your dreams.”
Jeff Kempthorne said that of all the titles his father held, “Dad” and “Pop Dirk” were the most important to him. He shared that his father put service before himself. He said that “his greatness came from that sacrifice.”
Throughout his career, achievements and struggles, Kempthorne was never alone, his son said. Patricia was his “rock, his anchor and his greatest lesson.”
“He showed us that conviction matters, that legacy matters, believing in yourself, even when it seems impossible, even when the world says no, and doing it anyway,” Jeff said. “That is not just how we live, that is how we handle legacy.”
Patricia Kempthorne thanked, on her husband’s behalf, the staff and people who coordinated and helped make happen the ceremonies this week. She also shared her message to her late husband, a poem by E. E. Cummings titled, “I Carry Your Heart With Me.”
“I carry your heart with me, carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart,) I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling),” she recited, in part.
At the end of the service, Kempthorne’s pallbearers carried his casket down the aisle of the church as “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles played.
Kempthorne was honorably transferred Saturday afternoon in a cream-white hearse escorted by a motorcade with the Idaho State Police and Boise police officers to the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, his final resting place.
This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 5:23 PM.
