Serving Whitman County since 1877

Ed Schluneger

July 3, 1935 June 24, 2023

Ed Schluneger, longtime Onecho area farmer and rancher, died at his Colfax home on June 24, 2023. He was 87. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, July 8th, with a graveside service at the Onecho Cemetery at 10 a.m., followed by a memorial service at the Onecho Bible Church at 11 a.m. Viewing for Ed will be on Friday, July 7th, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Corbeill Funeral Home in Colfax.

He was born James Edwin Schluneger on July 3, 1935, in Colfax, to Albert and Evalina Schrag Schluneger. The baby of the family; Ed was one of 13 siblings in the large Schluneger family. He grew up on the family farm in the Onecho district and attended grade school near there. His father died when he was twelve years old and Ed would spend weekends in town with his mother and then come out to the farm during the week with his brother Earl. He attended Colfax High School where he was a boxer and played on the football team. Ed graduated from Colfax in 1953. He worked on the family farm.

He married Rosalinda Rogers on February 26, 1966, at Onecho and they made their home on the original home place. Ed was in a partnership with his brother Earl and they operated Schluneger & Schluneger Farms for many years. They ran cattle together in the mountains of North Idaho near St. Maries and operated a large ranch near Revere which is a 50-mile journey from Onecho. Ed retired from farming in 2003.

Ed loved working and it is what he was most often doing. When he did relax on occasion it always involved family. He loved to take the family boating on the Snake River. Large picnics or potlucks were commonplace. He also liked hosting or attending family reunions. He was active in the Onecho Bible Church and had served on the church board and the Sunday school board. For a while Ed was the sexton of the Onecho Cemetery, he bowled on leagues, and he was a member of the Washington Wheat Growers Association. He was a member of the Almota Elevator Company and of the Ewartsville Grange. They also worked as janitors at the Lower Granite Dam for more than 10 years. Ed was a proud sponsor of the FFA and he supported his kids and grandkids in all of their activities. He attended many if not all of their sporting events and was happy to do so.

Ed was more work than play but he loved his family and all of their activities. His playful and competitive sides were on display when he participated in the combine race when it was held in Colfax or when he took his family on an outing to Crystal Lake and they got lost; returning home at 1:30 in the morning. He was a talented wood-worker and craftsman and he liked to weld. Ed liked reading Louis L' Amour novels or watching the old John Wayne movies.

He is survived by his wife Rosie at home in Colfax; two children; Timothy (Barbara) Schluneger of Colfax and Connie (Danny) Eden of Dayton; by his five grandchildren of whom he was so proud; Abigail (Chuck) DeMeerleer of Moscow, Elizabeth (Dustin) Carter of Colton, Dr. Samuel (Peach) Kammerzell of Tulsa, OK., James Mann of Seattle and Evie Mann of Colfax; by two step-grandchildren; Leslie Eden and Sunny Eden; and by eight great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and by each of his siblings; Orville, Julia, Florence, Irene, Lorene, Ray, John, Leslie "Heck", Earl, Elmer, Virginia Morgan and Leona Conrad; and by Royal Schluneger who was like another brother to him.

The family suggests memorial gifts in his memory be to the Colfax Volunteer Fire Ambulance or to the Rosalia Volunteer Ambulance or to a charity of donor's choice. On-line guest book is at http://www.corbeillfuneralhomes.com

 

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