Earl Brayton Wight, 73, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, passed away in his home on June 15, 2026, with his beloved wife and youngest son by his side.

Brayton was born September 6, 1952, in Clovis, New Mexico, to Earl Abbott Wight and Carol Ann Bates. He was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and attended both East High School and the University of Utah. Growing up at the feet of the Wasatch Mountains, his early life was deeply shaped by the natural world surrounding him. Whether it was hiking, camping, hunting, or skiing, his youth was full of shared time with his dad and brothers in one wild place or another.

In late 1972, Brayton met his lifelong companion, Lorna Genene Cochran. The night they met, they talked for hours under a streetlamp in the cold. Arriving home that night, he excitedly told his dad that he had just met the girl he wanted to marry and asked his dad for advice. His dad said, “Get to know her!” In spite of his dad’s advice, or perhaps because of Brayton’s own wisdom, he and Genene went on to have the briefest of courtships and were married on June 22, 1973, in the Salt Lake Temple and were best friends and eternal companions for nearly 53 years until his death.

Together, Brayton and Genene had 5 children, and the love and pride he carried for them was boundless and immeasurable. He often spoke fondly of returning home after a day's work and quietly listening to his children laugh and play together, saying the joy and wonder of being their father felt like heaven on earth. It was hard for him to imagine anything sweeter, more beautiful, or more precious than a room filled with the energy of his children. That sentiment never changed even as his children became adults, parents, and eventually grandparents themselves. His children were the jewels of his heart and, in 2018, after a lifetime of wondering and always feeling an acute hole in his life, a final precious jewel was restored to him when he was reunited with his oldest daughter, whom he and his then-girlfriend had placed for adoption when they were just sixteen years old.

Brayton spent his life as a craftsman, and his list of skills was broad and his level of mastery deep. He started his career working as a stick framing carpenter with short stints as a plasterer and a painter. He then spent 20+ years focused mainly on drywall finishing but practiced new trades with each passing year, including steel-stud framing, tile, finish carpentry, some electrical and plumbing, acoustical tile ceilings, and more. Eventually he was licensed as a general contractor to capture and capitalize on the breadth of his skills. He was a masterful problem solver and could understand the vision of each space he worked in. To watch him work his craft was to watch an artist.

Anyone that knew him at all would describe him as a voracious reader and lifelong learner, always picking up new hobbies and interests including rock climbing, gunsmithing, gemstone faceting, bicycle racing, karate, knife-forging, archery, hunting, camping, skiing, boating, and what his grandma called “puttering” - taking things apart and putting them back together. The man could repair anything.

His family knew him as the splinter-getter, the family urgent-care provider, the professional dashboard drummer, the road-trip rubber-necker, the best damn barbecuer, and the teller of the worst-best dad jokes in all the land. He had an exceptional knack for making an entire room simultaneously groan and laugh at the badness of his jokes, and the more his audience groaned in pain, the harder he laughed.

Music was a thread woven throughout his life. He learned to play the guitar at a young age and spent his whole adult life accompanying his wife's rich, beautiful voice as they performed at weddings, funerals, church functions, and family gatherings. He loved to deconstruct lyrics and find the deeper meaning in songs. His kids and grandkids, who are all musical, can attest to the endless conversations about music, whether it was the structure of a song, the chord progression, the meaning of the lyric, or the journey the whole song took them on.

Brayton had a never-ending interest in people and their stories. He loved to share himself and peer into the heart of anyone he encountered, and in his peering, he would always find the best pieces and hold them front and center in how he saw each person.

To know Brayton was to love him. Or more accurately… to know him was to be loved by him. He leaves a profound absence in the minds, hearts, and lives of all who knew him, but none more than the family he loved with such devotion.

Brayton is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Genene; his children: Sheree (Bruce), Sarah (Josh), Zandy (Aim), Clancy (Dustin), Lacy (Patrick), and Taylor; his 19 grandchildren: Lily, Lance, Ethan, Mac, Ella, Rohan, Brynja, William, Vincent, Victoria, Kaidyn, Tregan, Easton, Oliver, Lance W. (Joann), Sydney (Joseph), Jessica (Matt), Jeremiah, and Joe (Bethany); and his 6 great-grandchildren, Cami: Beau, Owen, Taya, Micah, and Sawyer. He also leaves behind his 3 brothers: Mark (Christine), Jim (Kathy), and Marty (Noel), as well as cousins, nieces and nephews, and other extended family.

He was preceded in death by his father, Earl, and his mother, Carol, as well as grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m. on June 23, 2026, at the River Road LDS Church building, 3370 N 5th W, Idaho Falls, with Bishop Matt Sumsion officiating. The family will visit with friends and family from 10-11:30 a.m. prior to the services. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.coltrinmortuary.com.

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