Richard F. Orton, Jr. (Rick), age 72

Richard F. Orton, Jr. (Rick), age 72, of Meridian, Idaho, passed away peacefully with his wife Jane Orton by his side on June 3, 2022 in Meridian, Idaho.

Rick was born on August 5, 1949 in Alamosa, Colorado. His father was Richard (Dick) Orton, and his mother was Mildred June Orton.

Rick and his family moved to the Silver Valley in 1952, living briefly in Mullan, Idaho, and eventually settling down in the old mining town of Burke, Idaho. Rick attended Burke Grade School, and he later attended Wallace Junior and Senior High Schools. His family eventually moved down the canyon to Wallace, Idaho.

Rick married his classmate Janie Petersen. They welcomed a son Thorpe Peter Orton in 1966 in Wallace. They had a second child, a daughter named Sara Serine Orton in 1978, born in Boise, Idaho.

After Rick and Jane graduated from high school, they moved with their son to Moscow, Idaho, so that Rick could get an engineering degree. He received his B.S. in civil engineering in 1970, and he received his M.S. in civil engineering in 1972. Rick was then hired as an engineer for JUB Engineering Company in Nampa, Idaho, and he and his family moved to Meridian, Idaho. Rick eventually took an engineering job with Tudor Engineering Company in Boise. In 1984, Rick and Dave Toothman bought out the firm and started their own engineering company. Rick served as President and Project Manager. The company, Toothman-Orton Engineering, expanded with offices in Boise, McCall, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He was a tough and exacting boss and lived and breathed his company. His company touched almost every county and major project around the state in the 80s and 90s. Rick built the company from the ground up, and he eventually sold it in 2007.

Rick also had a commercial development company called Orton Development Enterprises, where he worked with his son Thorpe, preparing a large commercial property for future development in Nampa, Idaho.

Rick frequently testified in trials for attorneys as an expert witness in various engineering matters. He also served on the Meridian City Council where he lent his expertise in civil sanitation and services. A project he was deeply in involved in at the time was the development of the Meridian water tower which stands today as a symbol of the town. He was also instrumental in the engineering of Meridian’s public swimming pool, and he did the engineering work on what is now called Tamarack Resort in Cascade. He owned several commercial and investment properties. Rick was a notoriously hard and relentless worker, and he was very successful in his career, business ventures, and investments. Rick always “had a theory,” as he would say. He loved to dispense good financial and investment advice to anyone who would listen.

After living in Meridian’s Wheel Inn Mobile Manor for four years, Rick and Jane bought the historic Tolleth House (built in 1907) in downtown Meridian. Rick spent years renovating the house and landscaping the large yard. He also built a couple jeeps. As he matured he took joy in jeeping, driving his motorcycles and randomly visiting friends and his kids on the weekend unannounced. He was not often without his dogs – Bengy, Hillary, Bart and later Trooper.

Thorpe recalls that Rick taught him how to play basketball, racquetball, snow and water ski, and work on wood projects, and Rick eventually instilled a love of school in his rebellious son. Sara says that he could be very demanding and ridiculous. Despite this he gave her a good sense for business, hard work and low tolerance for bullshit. He also passed on his love of animals and the outdoors to Sara. Rick was very proud of how his granddaughter Taylor (he called her Tay-Tay) grew up to be such a good and hardworking mom, raising his wonderful great grandson Maison Hook. Rick also loved all the years he spent attending his granddaughter Hanna’s athletic pursuits, especially basketball, and Hanna loved to go to Rick’s office after school and talk to him about things that would make her cry, which Hanna humorously believes made Rick nervous. His youngest grandson Hunter loved to accompany Rick to the office with Bart the dog and still brags to friends about Rick’s Korean War jeep with a Corvette engine.

Rick and Jane were married for 56 years, living in the Idaho towns of Wallace, Moscow, Silverton, Boise, and Meridian. Together they built a strong stubborn family with deep roots here in the Treasure Valley.

Rick is survived by his wife Jane Lisabeth (Petersen) Orton, son Thorpe Peter Orton, daughter Sara Serine Matthews, granddaughters Taylor Ann Orton and Hanna Love Orton, grandson Hunter Ørsjødal Matthews, and great grandson Maison Hook. He is also survived by his three brothers, Duane, Larry, and Bill Orton. He was preceded in death by his father Dick (Richard) in 1997, his mother (Mildred) June in 2011, and an infant sister Marcie in 1953.

If desired, donations may be made to the West Valley Humane Society where Rick got his dog Trooper or to the Idaho STEM Action Center which provides opportunities for Idaho kids to become no nonsense civil engineers like Rick.