Bruce M. Shadduck, 71

Bruce Marvin Shadduck, 71, died Sept. 8, 2014, at home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with family at his side.

He was born Sept. 22, 1942, in Coeur d'Alene to Ragna (Ringstad) and Marvin Shadduck, both of whom lovingly fostered honesty, respect, honor and responsibility during Bruce's childhood. These traits were more than merely a clean-cut image of this only child's hard-working middle-class upbringing, but helped define and strengthen a rather shy, small and skinny blond-haired boy into a handsomely taller, intellectual and good-hearted man.

Joining close family friends, the Shadducks built upon an oasis at Hayden Lake in North Idaho in the mid-to-late 1940s. The quaint and evolving cabin community called Hayden Haven opened young Bruce's mind to the wonders of the natural world. With childhood best friend Tom Weeks, the two summer-tanned toddlers planted their footprints across the vast, mostly uninhabited sands. They learned to swim, skip rocks, search for arrowheads, count shooting stars, and eventually grew into promising helpers around the cabin community and Week's Resort.

The arrival of each new school year closed out the summer lake explorations of insects, wilderness and wildlife. The Shadducks lived in Ritzville and later Dishman, Wash., for his dad's teaching career.

A story passed on from generation to generation hinged on a bat, a ball, a shattered plate-glass window at Dishman Grade School, and a momentarily-terrified young student who had to go tell the truth to the principal. That student was Bruce. The principal was his dad.

While some kids would flee the scene or resort to the blame game to free themselves of the wretched duty of a confession, Bruce's upbringing was the comfort to his nerves during that walk to the principal's office. Bruce was honest to the principal about playing baseball too close to the school, and took responsibility for the damage incurred. Of little thought then, of course, but the honorable and just course of action Bruce chose that day would encompass his own parenting and teaching skills.

But first, Bruce achieved several more societal markers in his maturing life. He made it through grade school, leaving in his wake only that one broken window; went through confirmation at the Lutheran church; made several camping and hiking trips with his aunt Louise and Shadduck cousins; and graduated from West Valley High School in 1960. He then embarked on his law-abiding duty and completed basic training and radio maintenance in the Army Reserve Forces at Fort Benning, Ga.

Upon returning to the Lilac City, Bruce joined the Washington National Guard and continued with schooling at Eastern Washington College (a.k.a. EWU). According to long-time family friend and college roommate Jerry Oberst, Bruce's tidy upbringing in a seemingly spotless home conflicted with his bachelor style, which was organized clutter that continued to be comic relief throughout Bruce's seven decades of life. While his desktop was often a disaster, cluttered with all sorts of papers and books, "He kept it all on his side of the room," Jerry said.

While finishing a science-focused education degree at EWC, Bruce married and later welcomed his firstborn named Kinda Marie in early 1965.

Bruce's 34-plus year teaching career concentrated on earth and geographical sciences, as well as stints in health sciences and various mathematics courses at the junior high and high school levels. His first classrooms were at Lewis and Clark High School in downtown Spokane before the gravitational pull northwest relocated the new family to the Okanogan School District. He simultaneously taught school and coached downhill skiing during some bitter winters there.

The latter 30 years were lived in the suburbs of Seattle, the natural beauty of the Puget Sound region enhanced by the lush green valleys and snow-capped Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges were an easy lure for the family. All that, and the bountiful Pacific Ocean, became Bruce's classroom for teaching and self-learning.

Outside the enjoyment of the bustling Emerald City, Bruce courageously engaged thousands of hormonal tweens and teens in the fun and intrigue discovered through earth science at Leota Jr. High School in Woodinville, Wash. He also assisted with coaching track and football. And yes, even his school office desk looked rather chaotic amidst the friendly chuckles of colleagues, but he always seemed to locate what he needed.

The Shadduck family grew with the addition of a second daughter named Kiantha Marilouise in 1973.

Some years later, a temporary split of the family of four handed new responsibilities to the junior high teacher. Bruce raised Kiantha alone through her elementary school years, and she became his downhill ski buddy, artist-in-training at his classroom chalkboard, and chief flashlight holder during planeri collecting season in streams near the University of Washington arboretum. With no haunting baseball memories of his own, Bruce also taught his youngest daughter how to catch, throw and hit a baseball.

Bruce was an individual of great integrity and work-ethic, logging weeks at a time letter writing and picketing at the Washington State Capital in Olympia for equal pay for all school teachers. He championed curriculum reform to revamp decades-old teaching materials and schools of thought, in favor of up-to-date textbooks, scientific research and world discoveries.

From camping and hiking to teaching his daughters some woodland survival skills and the art of wildlife tracking for viewing enjoyment only, Bruce's well-being was enriched by the natural world. He found volcanoes, such as Mount St. Helens, the ever-developing Hawaiian Islands, and earthquakes intriguing.

After all the years of earthquake drills performed by staff and students at Leota, Bruce was teaching there the day the 6.0 magnitude rocked that region in 2001. The drills came back like second nature, quickly guiding his students away from the potential for glass-shattering beakers in the science labs to safety under sturdy tables.

Bruce was never known to speak ill of anyone. Many teenage friendships solidified at Hayden Haven over waterskiing mishaps and triumphs, summer crushes, and cabin potlucks continued through adulthood. Descendants of the Austins, Nogles, Seals, Fatheringhams, Meyers, Coles and Keatings would periodically make their way to a common campfire on the beach - in earshot of the Saturday night sing-a-longs one bay over at Camp Mivoden - to reconnect and reminisce about the old days.

Laughter and sighs abounded out of stories regarding their parents, the resort, black bears at the community dump, ever-changing deer trails, devastation to the forest and pond habitat due to the influx of near-by mansions, uninvited indoor cabin bats, the occasional skunk, and cliff-side walks from cabin to cabin.

Upon retirement in 2001, Bruce moved back to his town of birth to take on primary care-giving roles for both of his parents. He took on periodic substitute teaching positions in local school districts. Bruce was a founding member of Canfield Mountain Preservation and later Canfield Mountain Alliance, both of which challenged city and Kootenai County ordinances to keep housing developments from devastating the natural beauty of the landmark mountain.

Bruce shared his compassion for all of the world's species, teaching his daughters how to humanely catch and release insects in the home. The activism and writings of Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall were early inspirations for his support of Defenders of Wildlife, Animal Advocates of the Inland Northwest, River's Wish Animal Sanctuary, Pacific Northwest Animal Welfare Project, Lavender Dreams Farm and Donkey Rescue, Audubon Society, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, and several land and water conservation organizations.

Bruce was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents Mary (Hanson) and Gustov Ringstad, and Mary (Furgason) and Lester Carson Shadduck; Shadduck uncles and aunts Avery and Esther, Orville and Ann, Harvey and Claudia, Lester and Maxine, Glenn and Betty; aunt Louise Shadduck; uncle and aunt Erling and Elsie Ringstad; and cousins Clarence Bradley, Denny Shadduck, and Dustin Taylor.

Bruce is survived by his loyal furry companion friend, Buddy; daughters Kinda Keane of Richland, Wash., and Kiantha Shadduck of Coeur d'Alene; granddaughter and grandson-in-law Tasia and Jordan McMahan of Pasco, Wash.; great-grandsons Brock McMahan and Tobias McMahan, both of Pasco; first cousins Jean (Shadduck) and Carl Steingrebe of Belfair, Wash., Sharon (Shadduck) Bradley of Lewiston, Idaho, Glenn and Barbara Shadduck of Lynnwood, Wash., Lester and Kaye Shadduck of Boise, Idaho, Avery Shadduck, Jr. of Coeur d'Alene, Ann Dee (Shadduck) and Doug Sawyer, Robert Shadduck of Lewiston, Juanita (Shadduck) of Chino Valley, Ariz., Carolyn (Ringstad) Hanley of Mullan, Idaho, and Susan (Ringstad Beckner) and Dave Knapik of Moscow, Idaho; aunt Mary Shadduck of Winchester, Idaho; and numerous extended family.

A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d'Alene. Yates Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care of final arrangements. Please visit Bruce's online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com