Gordon Terence Mentzer

On August 4th, 2026 Gordon Terence "Terry" Mentzer returned to his maker with his loving family near his side. Born in Salinas, CA in 1940, Terry came into this world a voracious reader--Service, Hemingway, Steinbeck--and deeply curious about the human experience.

 As a young child his family relocated to a rural property outside of Coos Bay, Oregon where he spent his formative years. His parents played Sunday pinochle with the Prefontaine family just up the road and all the area kids attended Marshfield High School. After attending the University of Oregon for 12 years and working in the Oregon saw mill industry, Terry landed a job working for Lumberman's Underwriting as a fire protection engineer.

He traveled the country inspecting fire suppression systems and further expanding his lens--traveling sometimes thousands of miles each week in a hard top Cadillac. In his early years for fun he'd take solo trips on old dirt roads down the Baja peninsula in a rickety old truck and road trip around the western USA before the interstate highway system was in place with his favorite cousin, Jack. He also liked to read a book or two each week because "bad poetry beats reality." He was never short on word play. 

Eventually Terry started a family in Oregon and had two daughters with his first wife before separating. He met the love of his life, Valerie Grace Feurtado in Boca Raton, Florida a few years later right before heading out on his renowned around the world motorcycle tour. Val waited patiently for him while he made his way around the globe, 207 days on a Honda XL250, continuing to ever expand his world view and creating a list of personal and professional accomplishments that are truly second to none. He even published a dual feature in Motorcyclist Magazine that remains well circulated today.

 After returning to the states, Terry and Val got hitched and headed back out west to Boise, Idaho in their Oldsmobile Rocket 88. There they had two boys, Jay and Andrew, in a blended family with Val's daughter, Halcyon. They built a happy life in the north end of town and never looked back. Amid family time, Terry still made room for adventures. He was known to solo the Middle Fork Salmon River in a McKenzie boat from time to time and took a second stab at another around the world ride in 1991 but the Soviet KGB wouldn't let him travel further east than Moscow.

 Terry was beloved by many and an inspiration to those closest to him. He could build or fix just about anything and carried unobstructed optimism with him in his back pocket every single day. He was the best of us. A teacher, mentor, tinkerer, visionary and dreamer, not to mention being one of the kindest and most generous people ever to grace this earth. He will be missed dearly but never forgotten. His enduring message: "Let life flow through your fingertips." 

Terry is survived by his wife Valerie, sons Jay (Jaclyn, Nyla, Sawyer) and Andrew (Genevieve), step-daughter Halcyon, daughters Katie (Will, Julia, AJ) and Sarah, cousin Jack (Karaen), nephews Dennis and Don and many extended family members.

 Services will be held at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Boise on August 22nd at 2pm.

 In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association or American Cancer Society in his name. 

Terry's Around the World Motorcycle Article and Reflection Video:  https://transworldtour.com/1977-8/ and  https://youtu.be/EgO8RJ5knF4?is=Js1sfrFt7PZ1hvIv