Obituary of Ronald Paul Linnemeyer

Ronald Paul Linnemeyer (77) longtime resident of St. Maries, ID passed away on February 25th, 2022, with his loving family by his side. He was born to Carl and Shirley (Curless) Linnemeyer on September 25th, 1944 in Bonners Ferry, ID, but his father didn’t meet him until he was 1 year old because he was serving in WWII during this time. Ron grew up in Bonners Ferry and attended Mount Hall School where he participated in athletic sports. He spent his days fishing in the Kootenai River and shooting gophers for 5 cents per tail with his best friend and sister Karlene. In 1962, he enlisted into the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and was stationed overseas and in Vietnam. He was active duty until 1965 and in the Naval Reserve until 1968 when he was Honorably Discharged. During his service, he disabled underwater mines, and trained others in his underwater techniques. While in the Navy, he found his love of boxing and often competed on and off the ships. In January of 1965, he moved to St. Maries to be near his brothers Max and Larry. He worked at various mills before he and his brothers formed Linnemeyer Brother’s Logging. He met Lynne Schwanz when she was waitressing at Bud’s Drive Inn and after a brief courtship, they married on December 17, 1965, in Coeur d’ Alene, ID. In 1967, Lynne’s mother passed away, and she and Ron moved into the family home to raise Lynne’s younger siblings. In 1974, they started a family, having five children of their own. To support his family over the years, Ron held various jobs. He logged, built roads, worked at local mills, drilled water wells, and created and owned a Slashbusting company which took him to various parts of the Inland Northwest, and California. After an injury, Ron semi-retired in 2004; however, he still worked in the woods from time to time and volunteered for a few local organizations in St. Maries. One of Ron’s many talents was using witching rods, not only to locate water sources but also missing possessions for friends and family. Ron was a member of the Eagles Lodge, Elks Lodge, and American Post #25 all in St. Maries. He enjoyed photography as well as woodworking. He was talented and made several baby cradles, benches, and other gifts for those he loved. An avid outdoorsman, Ron also enjoyed hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, snow skiing, boating, water skiing and road trips. Joe’s Bar considered him a V.I.P. and he would look forward to socializing with friends and strangers in the bar and teasing his favorite bartenders. He didn’t know a stranger and quickly made an impact on whoever met him. However, his family was his biggest joy and blessing. He loved his children with all of his heart, and when the grandkids came, they all had him wrapped around their fingers. He was a proud husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and a devout American Patriot. Ron is survived by his wife Lynne at their home in St. Maries; children Kari Linnemeyer-Wilkinson of St. Maries, Rondi and Joe Martin of St. Maries, Kristin Linnemeyer and Jared Schock of Newman Lake, WA, Ryan Linnemeyer of St. Maries, and Katie Linnemeyer and Jeff Williams of Coeur d’ Alene, ID; siblings Max and Jan Linnemeyer of St. Maries, Art Linnemeyer of Bonners Ferry, Steve Linnemeyer of Baker, OR, Karlene and Dan MacDonald of Bonners Ferry, ID, and Bonnie Brown of Spokane, WA. Also surviving are 16 grandchildren; Kalynn and Lillian Wilkinson, Bailee, Gabriel and Brady Martin, Lauryn, Ethan and Emily Hill, Christian Kreiger, Chace, Judah and Hendrix Schock, Kaliyah Linnemeyer, Adalyn Linnemeyer, and Archer and Lynlee Williams. 2 great-grandchildren; Aurora Hill-Norton and Emma Schock, and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Larry Linnemeyer. Military Honors will be presented at the Veteran’s Memorial at the Woodlawn Cemetery on March 18, 2022, at 1:00 pm. A Memorial Service will follow at 2:00 pm at the Elks Lodge in St. Maries with a gathering for family and friends to share a meal after services.