Dwayne T. Brigham

He grew up in Custer, S.D., and spent much of his youth exploring the Black Hills while hunting, camping and working on the family homestead. As a toddler, he lived for a summer in a tent with his parents and five siblings while his father worked on the roads leading to Mount Rushmore, which was under construction at the time.

He graduated from Custer High School in 1952 and enrolled at South Dakota State University to pursue a degree in engineering. During the summer, he worked deep in the forest at different fire lookouts, even Harney Peak, where he took his family on horseback many years later. His deep love of the outdoors led him to transfer to the University of Montana, where he studied forestry, was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and graduated in 1957.

Following graduation, he was hired by the U.S. Forest Service. He immensely enjoyed his time with this agency while leading firefighting teams out of Kalispell Bay at Priest Lake, Idaho, as well as many other projects in such places as the North Fork of the Clearwater River. He was transferred to Spokane, where his life was changed forever after meeting Shirley Ann Wilson in 1963. He quickly realized his good fortune and married Shirley one year later, becoming a father to her two young boys, Mark and Jim.

This new family soon moved to Clarkston and after a brief stint in insurance sales, Dwayne risked everything by opening the Red Steer Drive Inn in Lewiston. This led to more than four decades of successfully running restaurants, Mr. B's and Skipper's in Lewiston, a Skipper's in Moscow as well as other ventures. Dwayne and Shirley loved the business and especially loved giving hundreds of youth their first jobs in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.

Dwayne lived most of his life in Lewiston with Shirley and his family. He was exalted ruler of the Elks Lodge, volunteered on various community boards and actively supported his children in many different youth sports. Much later in life, he retired to Clarkston, where he volunteered at the Inland Northwest Blood Center and was named volunteer of the year in 2012. He also kept busy reading, gardening, playing poker and enjoying a daily cigar while his dog Buddy lay by his side. Dwayne will be remembered as an intelligent man with a great sense of humor, a businessman who had a lot of fun, and more than anything, a dedicated and loving husband to Shirley and father to his children and many grandchildren and great-grandchild.

He is survived by his children, Mark (Dena) of Clarkston, Jim (Kelli) of Boise, Mary (Dave) Warner of Hillsboro, Ore., and Brian (Allison) of Coeur d'Alene; brother Don of Boise; sister Shirley of Polson, Mont.; and sister Helen of Washington, D.C.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Robert; and a sister, Dorothy.

His funeral will be held at 4 p.m. Friday at New Bridges Community Church, 2102 Eighth St., Lewiston. Donations in his honor can be made to the Lewiston Elks Lodge No. 896, 3444 Country Club Drive, Lewiston.