Heritage Court 2022
Lady Larraine Davis
Larraine Davis of Carey, born Juanita Larraine Bell, was born in Hailey. Her mother was Basque, immigrating from Spain as a young child. Larraine’s father worked in mining until his tragic death at the Triumph Mine when Larraine was two years old. She and her mother moved to Oakley, Idaho to be close to her father’s family.
Larraine graduated high school in Oakley, and soon after married a cowboy named Lloyd Davis from Rupert. Lloyd and Larraine moved to a ranch in Carey, where they have been for over 60 years.
As Lloyd was the ranch foreman, Larraine would help with the cattle and horses. She also enjoyed cooking for the branding and shipping crews. Larraine and Lloyd had 3 children, two girls and a boy.
While raising their children, Larraine also spent 33 years in bookkeeping for the City of Hailey’s Clerk Office. There she received an International Institution of Certified Municipal Clerks award. She also worked 10 years as Carey School secretary and school aid, 10 years at the clerk’s office of the District & Magistrate Court of Blaine County, and spent some time as a newspaper reporter for the Wood River Journal and Twin Falls Times News.
Larraine has been highly involved in the Carey community, serving as secretary, timer, and flag carrier for Carey Pioneer Days. She has helped with 4-H, Basque family history research, women's groups, and continues to be involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Larraine continues to live on the ranch in Carey, where she enjoys being in nature, reading, working on her beautiful gardens and spending time with her husband Lloyd.
Lady Mary Ann Flaherty
Mary Ann Flaherty of Ketchum was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and first came to Sun Valley in 1949 with a high school friend. She became employed by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, waitressing in the Sun Valley Lodge and the Ram restaurant. Her natural good looks caused a publicity photographer to ask her to pose for a Sun Valley publicity still in 1950.
In 1950, Mary Ann met John “Jack” Flaherty, the baker and pastry chef for Sun Valley. She reminisces about the comradery of the Sun Valley staff, who would go downtown to Ketchum together to have drinks and dance at the Alpine Club. “One evening, after finishing serving, the Ram kitchen and waitress staff all grabbed sleeping bags around 9pm and went up to Baker Lake in the dark, staying up until 3am. The next morning Jack jumped right into the ice cold lake!”
The couple wed in 1951 and decided to make their permanent home in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Their first child was delivered by Dr. Moritz in the Sun Valley Lodge, whose upper levels were still being used, as Mary Ann says, “for ski injuries and babies” since being a convalescent hospital for the Navy after WW2.
Mary Ann is an accomplished seamstress, and would make outfits and quilts for her children. Dress maker Sonja Tarnay took notice of her skill, and asked Mary Ann to sew skirts for her to sell in Pete Lane’s in Ketchum. Mary Ann recalls with fondness the beautiful wool and silk fabrics she would use for the popular long skirts.
In 1958, Jack and Mary Ann bought a lot in Warm Springs, which Mary Ann considered to be “out in the toolies”, and built the house that she would live in for 60 years. After raising their four children, Mary Ann continued to do charitable work around Ketchum, including volunteering at the hospital making the “new baby” packages for the labor and delivery wing. She continues to stay involved in her church and social groups in Ketchum.
Lady Betty Grant
Betty Grant of Hailey is a familiar face to many coming through the Friedman Memorial Airport, where she volunteers as a survey taker. She enjoys the job due to her love of people and self-proclaimed “gift of gab”.
Betty was born on a rural Minnesota farm, but was always up for an adventure. To attend high school, she worked for her own room and board, and tuition, by taking summer jobs at Whitefish Lake. In the summer of 1953, she took the Northern Pacific Railroad overnight train to Montana. She was filled with awe at the beautiful mountain landscapes. She spent the summer at Yellowstone Park, waitressing in the Lodge.
Betty attended college at the University of Minneapolis, and continued her education at the Swedish Hospital of Nursing. She worked in a hospital using her LPN degree, until the opportunity came to head west and work for the Sun Valley Company.
Being part of Sun Valley’s ‘posh waitressing staff’ suited Betty just fine, and she recalls the glamour and excitement of the Sun Valley Lodge. “In the Christmas season, the air smelled of pine boughs…the orchestra would be playing, and us girls would go around in Tyrolean aprons serving hors d'oeuvres…there was just so much atmosphere!”
Betty also enjoyed the perks of Union Pacific train passes, and would join her friends on many adventures to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and Hoover Dam. She flew to Mexico with her friend, bouncing around to Mexico City, Acapulco, and Juarez. Betty tried a career in the aviation business for a time in Seattle, going to an airline finishing school for Northwest Airlines.
But she continued coming back to Sun Valley to ski, and made a fortuitous acquaintance with handsome Bill Grant. “Oh, that enterprising man…” she would say. After moving back to Idaho and renting a house from Bill with her sister, their romance began and Betty and Bill were married in 1963. The two were a matched pair, and Betty describes their marriage as “fun, fiery, and adventurous.” They raised 6 daughters, and were both active in the community's social and business scene.
After her husband's passing, Betty lives in Hailey and is involved with many community groups, always ready for a good chat with a friend.
Lady Nancy Kennette
Nancy Kennette of Bellevue moved to Idaho in 1978, and was excited to live in such a beautiful area, having a deep love of nature. The first house she lived in was a “cute little cabin when we moved in the summer. Little did we know the insulation was not up to par, and my first winter in Idaho was spent with frozen pipes!”
Nancy was born in Norfolk, Nebraska. Her father had been a farmer, but after serving in the Navy showed him a larger glimpse of the world, he and his wife decided to pack up their four kids under the age of 9 and move to northern California. Nancy began 2nd grade at Gridley Elementary, where she formed a friends group that she stays in touch with to this day.
Nancy attended Yuba College and University of California, where she graduated with a degree in social welfare and was ready, as she put it “to go out and help the world!”
Life took many turns for her however, and as she was working as seamstress in a tailor shop to pay for her college tuition, she met her first husband. He and Nancy had two sons together, and made the move to Idaho.
They bought a house in Bellevue in 1982 that Nancy kept after their marriage ended. As Nancy was a single mom, she was resourceful in her life with her two sons. She and other young moms formed a babysitting co-op where “we would each take a day of the week and have all the kids at our house, while the other moms worked” thus allowing the other days to be available for their jobs. Nancy was involved in exercise classes, where she recalls the support of other local women. “I remember talking to older women about life’s challenges, and they would tell me it's all going to be okay- and keep your chin up!”
Nancy worked in property management and cleaning for Sun Valley Aviation and private homes, building a long-time client base before giving the business to some of her employees.
She also became active in many supportive community groups, including joining the NAMI board and helping to offer some of the first mental health services in Bellevue. She is also involved in the Hunger Coalition.
Nancy found love with husband Sam, after meeting him on a Salmon River excursion, and together they found a love of adventure, hiking, biking, and exploring the many hot springs in the area. Sam and Nancy also enjoy working on her beautiful gardens and fruit trees, from which many friends and neighbors receive jars of apricot jam every year.
Nancy continues to live in Bellevue.