R. Wayne Schultz

Wayne was born April 14, 1929, at Tetonia, Idaho, to Walter and Blanche Schultz, the oldest of eight boys. The family moved frequently around southern Idaho while his father farmed and ranched. Wayne grew up in this environment and learned the meaning of hard work, a trait he exhibited until the end. He attended schools in southern Idaho towns like Hagerman and Wendell and Darby, Mont., and he always boasted of having graduated from West Point (school near Wendell).

In the mid-1950s, Wayne began a correspondence with a woman living in Salt Lake City, and on July 26, 1956, he and Claire Rigby were married in the LDS temple in Logan, Utah. They began their married life in Lewiston, but after a year they moved to Orem, Utah, so Wayne could attend technical school for carpentry. While there they had two sons, Eldy Wayne in 1958 and Kenneth Valeo in 1960. Within a couple of years they had returned to the valley, living first in Asotin before moving to their home on 13th Street in Clarkston.

After a stint at the Potlatch Forests Inc. mill in Lewiston, Wayne worked a variety of jobs, from building fence for the Bureau of Land Management to building trail for the Forest Service. He also built houses, furniture and cabinets, and everything in between. He could build anything. He also acquired a number of rental properties, which he managed until the end of his life.

Wayne was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was active in the priesthood and held a variety of positions at both the ward and stake levels. He served as Sunday school president for the Lewiston Stake for many years. He always tried to teach others about the church, mainly through example by living the precepts of the Gospel to the best of his ability.

Claire passed away in 2012. In 2013, Wayne married Carol Krohn. She and her family were a blessing to him in his final years.

Surviving Wayne are his sons and their families: Eldy, of Clarkston, children Zanna of Moscow and Zach of Denver, and their mother, Rosemarie, of Clarkston; and Valeo, wife Hailey and children Hana and Cian, all of Los Angeles. He is also survived by one brother, Virgil of Idaho Falls; and a nephew who has been like a son to him, Leo Schultz of Clarkston.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Clarkston LDS Church, 1123 16th Ave., with a viewing for family and friends at 10:30 a.m. at the church. Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home of Lewiston is handling arrangements.