Kathy Lea Eggers

Heaven has welcomed a beautiful soul, Kathy Lea (Brog) Eggers. Born November 9, 1955, Kathy was a
little bundle of joy (weighing in at just 5 lbs.) in Salmon, Idaho to Paul and Jean (Poe) Brog. She joined
her older sister, Sheryl, and 13 years later her little sister Paula Jean came along.

Kathy’s family had a cabin at Williams Lake where they spent summers hiking, swimming, waterskiing,
and motorcycle riding. This is where she developed her never knowing a stranger personality as most of
the other kids were from out of state. Kathy was notorious for using her small size as an excuse for
anything she didn’t want to do by saying, “Me too wittle!”

Kathy’s first job was at her parent’s cheese factory, Salmon Valley Cheese.

Just a few family memories: Kathy & Sheryl borrowed their dad’s newly restored jeep. They got it stuck
and used the new chrome bumper to pull it out. Oops! If Kathy stayed out too late, the local police told
her to head home because her dad was looking for her. Kathy and her friends Sandy, Sharon,
and Connie were always making memories. Kathy’s love of flowers and Sheryl’s eye for a good deal
once found them diving into a huge dumpster in Vail to retrieve some discarded bouquets of silk flowers
from the resort which resulted in the two of them being covered in flower dust and debris, but the price
was right! Kathy was an expedient driver to say the least; she took after her father. At a few points in
her life, she risked losing her license. Speeding tickets and increased insurance rates were no match for
her need for speed. Her mother was part of the problem. When Kathy purchased her Subaru WRX, Jean
told her to take it to the limit. She did 150 mph. Daniel and Jackie surprised Kathy with a visit. Kathy’s
house was suddenly full of 8 little feet. She loved it.

Kathy attended school in Salmon. She was involved with many of the high school activities including drill
team and snow skiing. In 1971, her family decided to move to Nampa, ID to build the Swiss Village
Cheese factory located on Franklin and Star. She attended her junior and senior year in Meridian. Again,
she had to use her personality trait of fitting in and making friends. It was in high school where she met
and later married Lance Eggers. When Lance graduated from the U of I, he landed a job in Colorado.
New challenges and more new friends continued.

Colorado showed potential for being a good cheese market, so Kathy talked her Dad into opening a
cheese outlet. She was young but took on the task with vigor. She learned all aspects of the cheese
business. Her business was located near a cold storage and a flower shop, so whenever either of those
businesses needed a hand, Kathy, being Kathy ;) was there to help. She even learned to run a forklift and
how to create beautiful bouquets. Her business skills didn’t stop there. She joined Rotary and became
the first woman president in the state of Colorado. Her Dad found it hard to believe a woman could
belong to Rotary let alone be the president, but boy was he proud of her!

While living in Colorado she improved her gambling skills. She loved driving to the mountains to gamble
or to Las Vegas for the weekend. Her last vacation was spent in Vegas visiting her aunt and uncle and
trying to teach Sheryl and Ginger the art of gambling.

Shortly after she closed her cheese store, she took a job in furniture sales. Little did we know then that
this would become a lifelong career at which she would excel. She worked in Colorado until 1998 when
she felt like she was needed in Nampa to help her family with her nephews Daniel and Charles. She
decided in a day that she was moving. She flew to Boise where she bought a house and found a job with
a furniture company. Of course, finding a job wasn’t too difficult with the amazing letter of
recommendation her boss had sent.

In 1999, she started her career with RC Wiley. She was hired as one of their first employees, and she
remained working for them until glioblastoma brain cancer forced her to retire in 2021. She was a
trainer, a mentor, and voted #1 Saleswoman many times over. She traveled to new stores to train and
that was where she met the owner of RC Wiley, Warren Buffet. She was pretty proud of her picture with
him. She also developed a fun and rewarding relationship with Cindy Berg. The two of them were always
helping the other. There are many more friendships but not enough room to name all. She loved each
one of her RC Wiley connections. They were like family. In Kathy’s honor, RC Wiley created the KATHY
EGGERS AWARD for the furniture associate that best embodies the RC Wiley Way.

In 2019, Gary and Sheryl introduced Kathy and Bill Jackson. Eventually the two developed a serious
relationship. They enjoyed dinners out, movies, drives to McCall and Jackpot, and just watching TV.
Kathy never tired of giving Bill directions on all the shortcuts she knew even though he was an
experienced truck driver.

When diagnosed with cancer, Kathy tackled it like everything else including her Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
She didn’t give up and never slowed down. She always told the doctors she needed to get well because
she had a 15-pound rescue kitty by the name of Arny that she needed to take care. Her nephew, Charlie
checked on his aunt every day. She retired from RC Wiley’s but continued to mentor her RC Wiley
family.

During her rehab at the Elks, they were so impressed with her determination that Kathy was asked to
talk to other patients and motivate them. During this time, she decided to sell her home and move to
Touchmark where she could have a great view, wonderful meals, a lounge, swimming pool,
transportation and great people. Monthly she would invite the girls over for drinks and dinner. She did
the “Moving on up” to an apartment with the best view. Her and Arny enjoyed sitting on the sofa
looking out at the lake filled with geese and ducks while watching storms pass over the mountains. At
night, she loved looking at Bogus Basin lit up across the way.

After Kathy’s retirement, Sheryl and Kymberly were able to spend time with her. They were always
impressed that it seemed everyone Kathy introduced them to said, “You know your sister trained me at
RC Wiley!” or “Your sister has sold me furniture forever. She’s a pro!” or “You know I use to ask for your
sister by saying we wanted the sales lady with the beautiful nails.”
Kathy was also a wonderful cook. She loved preparing the annual Thanksgiving feast. This year she
decided it was time to hand the reins over to Paul and Amanda. She was surprised when she learned
they were eating Chinese takeout but loved the fact that there was so much time to enjoy stories, look
through old photo albums, and watch Ryder and Jaxon play.

In closing, we ask you to celebrate Kathy’s amazing life and her arrival in heaven. As she shines down
on us, let us remember her in our lives. Kathy loved her cat, Arny, and donations to your local humane
society would be appreciated.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kathy Lea Eggers, please visit our floral store.