Clayne Stirland Zollinger

Jul. 31, 1926 - Dec. 17, 2023

Date of Service: Jan. 6, 2024

Clayne Stirland Zollinger, Sr., long-term resident of Declo, Idaho, passed away December 17, 2023.

He was born July 31, 1926, to Henry Moroni and Eliza Annie (Stirland) Zollinger in Providence, Cache Valley, Utah. Clayne attended Providence Elementary and South Cache High School in Hyrum. He initiated lifelong athletic skills by running for the school train only after finishing break-of-dawn chores. As the youngest member of an industrious farm family, Clayne was a tease and prankster bringing a cheery attitude to dreary field work. His personality remained the same at 97 as it was when he was five.

In high school, Clayne was captivated by welding. He continued welding until he was 92 and his eyesight precluded working with fire! Over his lifetime, he built trailers, truck beds, swing sets, banquet-sized cooking stoves, repaired farm machinery, rebuilt vehicles, and designed innovative shop equipment. His welding creations sprang from what can only be called an engineering genius.

At the age of 18, Clayne was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. Clayne joked he must have mistakenly joined the Navy after suffering forty-seven tempestuous days on a massive troopship headed for the Philippines. Luckily, the war ended before combat. He continued serving his country during the US occupation of Japan and received an honorable discharge in 1946 including: the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Service ribbon; the Philippine Liberation Services Medal with one bronze star; the Victory medal; and the Japanese Occupation medal. To his mother’s surprise, Clayne also received the Good Conduct Medal.

Clayne was a life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving a Central States mission in Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri. Traveling without “purse or scrip,” he walked from town to town with missionary companions. Clayne’s infectious smile made quick friends and converts eager to listen to gospel teachings and provide a much welcomed meal.

On November 22, 1950, he married Kathryn Joy Aucoin from Louisiana. He had met his southern belle during her trip to Utah with her parents. She eventually fell in love with his wit over a long-distance, letter-writing courtship. He continued to make her laugh through 73 years of marriage. Together Clayne and Joy raised their family: four daughters and one son.

Not long after their marriage in the Logan Utah Temple, they bought an 80-acre farm in Declo. Clayne loved the land, Joy loved the house, and they loved becoming friends with good people settling the Mini-Cassia area. Clayne also operated a service station in Declo and a sporting goods store; but despite entrepreneurial interests, farming remained his childhood passion. He dedicated his life to farming in Idaho, Utah, Montana, and Nevada.

Clayne also became a certified Master Gardener, cultivating a vegetable garden for sharing his annual harvest of prized vegetables and Macintosh apples. Over several decades, he and Joy landscaped a magical yard where professional photography settings were welcomed and weddings, too.

In-between hard work and a variety of Church callings, including the Montana branch presidency and stake high council, Clayne was particularly fond of his home teaching assignments with dessert.

As a member of the American Legion, Clayne served as chaplain for many years. He participated on the firing squad, rendering 21-gun salutes at fifty-plus military funerals. He restored a 1942 Army jeep and filled it with grandchildren, pulling a float honoring fellow veterans in Mini-Cassia parades.

Clayne was a natural fit for the Boy Scout program, serving many years as a Scoutmaster. He enjoyed boating, horseback riding, water-skiing, hunting, snowmobiling, ice-skating, and fishing, into his nineties, always hopeful someone would join him on his fishing boat.

After retirement, Clayne continued creating projects with boy scouts. He spent hours building furniture for family and friends who loved hanging out in his perpetually populated workshop. If he saw someone struggling to walk, he lathed a cane. If dishes cluttered cupboards, he built China cabinets. He built oak desks. If a family outgrew their dinette, he built sturdy tables with slightly uncomfortable but nonetheless useful chairs. Clayne will continue to bring much-needed light into the world with his cherished hand-crafted candlesticks.

Surviving Clayne are his five children: Carolyn Zollinger, Janene (Dirk) Duchscherer, Kathy Jo (Dave) Duffin, Connie Zollinger and Clayne Stirland (Teryl) Zollinger Jr.; one granddaughter; nine grandsons; one great-granddaughter; and nine great-grandsons.

Preceding Clayne in death were his parents; three sisters and their spouses: Ora Thompson (Aldon), Blanche Madsen (Murray), and Fern Zohner (Dan); three brothers and their spouses: Lyman Zollinger (Ruth), Ray Zollinger (Inez), and Dean Zollinger (Bonnie); and one son-in-law, Dirk Duchscherer.

Two days after Clayne’s death, his wife, Kathryn Joy, passed away peacefully.

We will miss Clayne’s caring and daring heart, his impish smile and indefatigable energy. Many thanks to Minidoka Memorial Hospital, Horizon Home Health & Hospice and Utah Symbii Home Health &Hospice. Deep thanks to devoted friends and family members returning the love and care Clayne gifted them over his lifetime.

A funeral service for Clayne and his wife, Joy, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 6, 2024, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Declo Stake Center, located at 213 W. Main St., in Declo. Military rites will be provided by the Mini-Cassia Veterans Group. Burial will follow at Declo Cemetery.

Family and friends will be received from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday, January 5, 2024, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Saturday, preceding the funeral, at the church.

A live webcast of the Funeral Service will be available and maintained at the following link: https://youtu.be/5dBw-EyeG9M.