Herta Ebner Long, 94

1925-2020

Herta Ebner Long died peacefully in her sleep in Hayden on Wednesday, June 26, 2020. She was 94. A longtime resident of North Idaho, Herta maintained active and delightful relationships with four generations of family and a host of friends.

Herta, born in 1925, was raised in the beautiful city of Salzburg, Austria. Anyone who has seen the movie “The Sound of Music” would appreciate the environment that she both grew up in and loved. Her years in Austria were filled with mountain climbing, skiing, art school and long distance running. She qualified for the Summer Olympics of 1944, but the Olympics were canceled with the start of World War II. Salzburg was bombed repeatedly during the war but Herta survived.

A few years after the war ended, she married a U.S. Army officer who was stationed in Salzburg and had trained with special forces in the Colorado Mountains. Because of their shared love of skiing and mountain landscapes, they moved to Idaho and settled on a horse ranch in Cougar Gulch, in 1957.

Herta spent years as the “camp boss” on the ranch, baking bread, canning vegetables and fruits from ranch gardens and trees, raising chickens, keeping house and caring for her three children. Eventually, the family moved to Hayden Lake, where Herta studied at North Idaho College and worked as an award-winning photojournalist for the Spokane Daily Chronicle for many years. She spent much of her free time photographing wildflowers and the beautiful landscapes of Northern Idaho. She was an active member of the community and a member of the Unity Church. She volunteered at the Coeur d’Alene Visitors Center until she died, personally greeting thousands of visitors who had questions about life in North Idaho.

She was a beautiful and intelligent woman who, because of her language abilities and her many experiences both overseas and in Idaho, had developed a heartfelt empathy for others. She had many friends and was loved by all. She will be dearly missed and remembered warmly by family members who survive her, including her three children and their spouses, her four grandchildren and their spouses, and her beloved seven great-grandchildren.

Services will not be held.