Duwayne Jess Wilson

Duwayne Jess Wilson was born in Buhl, Idaho on July 26, 1943, to Jess and Vina Wilson. He was the middle child of three with an older sister, Yvonne and a younger sister, Sandra. They grew up on a small farm outside of town along the Snake River and they all loved helping wherever they could. This is where Duwayne established his work ethic and his love for farming, although he knew his future was not in horses and cows.

He graduated from Buhl High School in 1961 and joined the Army Reserves serving at Fort Ord in Monterey Bay, California as a Supply Seargent. Although he did not talk about it much, we know that he was proud of the time he spent serving his country.

After serving, he moved back to Buhl and figured he would end up farming as that is what he knew. However, he decided to take a bit of a different path and followed his love for water and fish. He got a job working for Ted Eastman at Snake River Trout. After working there, and later at Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery, Mr. Eastman decided to take Duwayne under his wing. Mr. Eastman chose to build a new hatchery, along with Duwayne, along the Snake River. After the hatchery’s completion, Duwayne would make this his home and his career there while managing this site for Clear Spring for the next 35 years.

Not long after Duwayne arrived back in Buhl, he met and fell in love with his soulmate, Sharyn Anne Madron. Sharyn was just nineteen when they met. They were married in early August 1967 and lived in and around Buhl until his retirement. In 1968, Duwayne and Sharyn started a family. Kyle Duwayne was born in September 1968 and Kade Lee in March 1973. Duwayne loved his family and was always a major part of their life. He had many titles and would do whatever was needed to support them. He was always Dad, but also took on the role of coach, bus driver, fund raiser, meal prep and cook, and sometimes motivational speaker, if a good pep talk was in order. Always there to support his family, he loved watching his boy’s play. Duwayne and Sharyn would travel all over the west to watch them in both basketball and golf during their high school years. Once the boys were at C of I together, they would make the drive to Caldwell for every home game as well as fly or drive to most of the away games. Duwayne and Sharyn were a major part of the program and were loved by the other players and coaches. They were even invited to ride the team bus on some road trips with two conditions: Sharyn had to bring her famous lemon bars and Duwayne had to bring the cards for poker. It could have been a rain soaked 36-hole golf tournament in Salem, Oregon or an 1100-mile drive to Hutchison, KS for the National Basketball Tournament; it didn’t matter when or where the event was taking place, they were going to be there to watch and support their boys!

Duwayne also loved cars and speed. He had owned several cars growing up and early in his life. One of his biggest regrets was selling his 1956 Chevy Pickup when he and Sharyn were early in their relationship. Having started a family, he knew that this was not the best family vehicle, but this truck always stuck with him. He got the chance to get a piece of history back when an opportunity came up through a friend to buy a 1956 Chevy Bel-Air two door hard-top. This became a source of pride for both Sharyn and Duwayne and they loved taking it out for a Sunday cruise to the countryside or to get an ice cream (as long as there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was between 60-80 degrees).

After retiring, Duwayne and Sharyn moved to Meridian to be closer to family. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and fought courageously against this disease until his passing. He was always a very social and a positive person and had a great sense of humor. He loved and cherished his family time and would always love to hear about what was going on in their lives, whether it was school, sports, relationships, or work as he would rather talk about someone else and not himself. This attitude and his personality served him well as he made friends everywhere he went.

One final note as he would want us to share, please pray for a successful season for Green Bay this next year and as he would say, “Go Pack Go!”

Duwayne passed July 14th peacefully in his home surrounded by family. He was preceded in death by his parents; Jess and Vina Wilson and his sisters; Yvonne Wilson and Sandra Wilson (Wisecaver).

He is survived by his wife, Sharyn Wilson; his sons & daughters-in-laws, Kyle & Angelina Wilson and Kade & Kristie Wilson. In addition to his six grandchildren, Abbie, Jaren, Marcus, Peyton, Aaliyah and Andre Wilson.