Vernon B. Ulrich, a well-known Riggins area specialty woodworker, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston with daughter Cheryl and wife Susan at his side.
Vernon was born Feb. 19, 1934, in Redwood Falls, Minn., at his parents’ homestead. He was the son of the late William and Marie Ulrich and had 11 siblings. When he was young, his family moved to Audubon, Minn., where they farmed. Vernon attended Audubon High School, then joined the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Porterfield for four years. Vernon was united in marriage to Jeanette L. Omberg in October 1955. They farmed in Minnesota until he moved to Alaska in 1981. He was a power lineman and was a lifelong member of the IBEW. He was instrumental in building power substations in Minnesota, North Dakota and Alaska, where he worked for Chugach Electric.
He met and married his soul mate, Susan Ulrich, Nov. 10, 1984. They lived in Anchorage, Alaska, until 1995, when they retired and moved to Canon City, Colo. In 2002, they moved to McCall to be closer to family. They moved to Riggins in 2013 to escape the snow and further appreciate Vern’s unending love for the Salmon River country as well as gardening. He enjoyed his richly filled life in Riggins, working in his wood shop, four-wheeling in the mountains and gathering berries, walnuts and fruit from the hills.
He was full of life and had a very adventurous spirit. He will be remembered for his gift of woodworking and sharing it with absolutely everyone he met. He was a man of many fond memories and kept in touch with all his old friends.
He is survived by his wife, Susan, of Riggins; son Verlyn Ulrich, of Wasilla, Alaska; two daughters, Cheryl (Bill) Gottenborg, of Hawley, Minn., and LouAnn (Tim) Olsen, of Lake Park, Minn.; his adopted son, Josh Ulrich, of Portland, Ore.; stepsons Justin (Jennifer) Clay, of Riggins, and Jason (Amie) Clay, of McCall; grandchildren Breanne (Cody) Marshall, Andrew (Jessica) Gottenborg and Kaitlynn (Brandon) Borgstahl; Sophi and Halle Clay; Tabitha (Tim) Bergman and Tyler Olsen; great-grandchildren Jovie, Sienna, Henley, Otto, Ike, Willow, Crew, Kendra, Logan and Mati; siblings Yvonne (Dave) Seaberg, Verona (the late Kenneth) Poolman, Naomi (Curtis) Elton and Iris (Marvin) Johnson.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Marie Ulrich; siblings Alton, Dorothy, Melvin, Elaine, Stan, Wayne, Carl and Vern’s infant daughter, Kathy Vernette Ulrich.
A private memorial will be held at a later date.
Condolences
Vernon M Gieseke and Myrtle
So sorry for your loss. Vernon was my cousin and my name is Vernon and our birthdays are close as mine was Feb 11. We usually got in contact with each other once a year. I was just going to send Vernon a Birthday card and was looking up his address. I will miss his annual call. God bless you in this time of sorrow.
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 8:39 AM
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