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Wynn Robert Wenker, 64

On Wednesday, July 31, 2019, Wynn Robert Wenker passed away suddenly at the age of 64. Wynn will be remembered by his loving wife of 29 years, Cheryl; his children, Nolan, Alison, Tristan, Cullen and Owen; his siblings, Troy and Lynn; and his grandchildren, Reese, Ashland, Colton, Aubrey and Eleanor. He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Lois Wenker, and grandson, Finn.

Wynn was born Aug. 8, 1954, in Ashland, Ore., where he spent his childhood and teenage years working for Ashland Sanitary Service, a company owned by his parents. Wynn excelled at sports and earned several awards in both football and track and field. In the mid-1970s, Wynn relocated to Portland, where he worked for General Telephone Company and eventually welcomed Nolan and Alison as his children.

In 1989, Wynn married the love of his life and continued to add to the family with the arrivals of Tristan, Cullen and Owen.

His career led him to his next adventure — moving to Coeur d’Alene in 2003. He held field operations and numerous managerial positions in the telephone and telecommunication industry with GTE, Verizon and Frontier Communications, until his retirement in 2013. In retirement, Wynn held various other jobs to keep himself young and active.

He had a wonderfully dry sense of humor that was either welcome or sometimes misunderstood. Those who knew him well always understood him and welcomed the laughs. He had a knack for understanding people and was always calm in a crisis. Wynn truly wanted to understand the “why” and took time to educate himself and others.

Besides his family, motorcycles have always been Wynn’s passion. Starting from a young age, Wynn rode dirt bikes throughout southern Oregon and eventually “graduated” to his love for road bikes. This passion was passed on from him to his children and his wife, just as it had been passed to him by his father. While Wynn was always open to exploring new roads or routes he had never seen, the ride he was most fond of was his many trips to Sturgis Bike Week.

Wynn was devoted to his family and we all knew how much he loved us. He was dearly loved and he will be missed desperately. We all look forward to one day being with him again riding down the road. We love you Dad.

Arrangements are provided by Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene.