Grant Joseph Leader, 49

Grant Joseph Leader passed away at his home in Naples, Idaho, on October 3, 2026.

He was born August 17, 1977, in Provo, Utah. He grew up in Montana and graduated from Libby High School in Libby, Mont., in 1996. 

He was a heavy equipment operator and was employed by the Idaho State Highway Department for about 17 years. He has been employed by Hecla Mining Company on Admiralty Island, Alaska since 2023 as a surface operator. 

As a student, he worked at Rosauer’s Grocery. After graduation, he worked on the fishing boats in Alaska for several years. He was a hard worker and had a reputation for knowing how to get the most challenging jobs done. 

Grant’s passion was the great outdoors. He hiked or rode his horse on many of the mountains in the Cabinet Mountain Range of Montana. He could start a fire in the most challenging weather, cooked many tasty meals over the campfire, and could set up a tent in record time. He was a hunter and a fisherman, but in his later years, preferred to see the wildlife alive and roaming on his property in Montana. 

As a young boy, he roamed along Parmenter Creek almost every day; winter camping overnight under a log and tarp when he was only 8 years old. He was well versed about the little bugs, fish, frogs and other critters that live in the water or along the banks. He could identify most of the trees and bushes that are native to this area. Like Davey Crockett of old, on whose birthday he was born, he was a true mountain man.

Unknown to many people, Grant played the guitar quite well. When he started logging and clearing our land in 2020, he gave up playing because his hands became more bruised, scraped and swollen. I sure have missed his music which included Irish melodies. music from the 1980s and from old western artists such as Marty Robbins. On a side note, related to music, Grant was born during a thunder and lightning storm the day after Elvis Presley died in 1977.

As Grant’s mother, we were blessed to share many happy hours of hiking and visiting together. In 2013 and 2014, we did the ten-mile hike into Havasu Falls, which is in the Grand Canyon. He always stopped to wait for me and give me time to rest if the trail became too long or too steep. As we have tramped over our North Keeler property for the past 6.5 years, he shared his dream of how he was going to develop our "100 Acre Woods." He used his excavator, dozer, and dump truck skills, to shape and carve our land into a little paradise. I called him the “Michaelangelo of Dirt Work.” It became my dream, too. He called our place the “Homestead.” One of the last things that he said to me: “We will have cows with salamander brands stamped on them.”

He is survived by his mother, Lottie Leader (Naples); sister, Stacey and Michael Riegel (Gilbert, Arizona); and two brothers, Olen and Amanda Leader (Boise) and Nathan and Candice Leader (Meridian). Other living relatives include four nieces, one nephew, a great-nephew, grandmother, Pattie Leader, Ken and Dessie Leader, Rich and Yvonne Leader, Theresa Byrd, Chrissy Boothman; and many cousins. 

Viewing is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, at Bonners Ferry Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday at 10 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2026, in Bonners Ferry. To leave a message or memory for the family go to bonnersferryfuneralhome.com. Bonners Ferry Funeral Home is caring for the family.