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As children, the played together and even napped together, but in high school, my mother-in-law, Joann Knox Schulenberg wasn’t so sure that she liked her childhood friend very much. I don’t know if it was his teasing, or what, but I do know that my father-in-law, Walt Schulenberg was a pretty good teaser. Of course, it was always in good clean fun, and before long, she rediscovered the reasons she liked him when they were young. Before long, they knew that their love was the forever kind of love, and so they married and began their life together. Their life would take them away from their hometown of Forsyth, Montana, and eventually land them and their young family in Casper, Wyoming, which would be their home for the remainder of their lives, with the exception of the snowbird years, when they wintered in Yuma, Arizona.
Over the years their family would grow as six children joined, one at a time. Four daughters and two sons 
blessed their lives. The girls learned all the homemaking skills that their mother had to offer, from sewing to crocheting, to cooking and canning, ad of course, cleaning and doing laundry. Their mother poured all of her housekeeping knowledge into her daughters, so they would have the necessary skills to make homes of their own. For his part, their dad took his sons under his wing and taught them mechanics, so that they could keep their vehicles in good running condition. He taught them how to build things…everything from a simple shelf to an entire home. He gave them the skills they would need to make a living and take care of the needs of their families. As the years went by, their six children blessed them with ten grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and since their passing a new great 
great granddaughter. The family has spent many years enjoying many wonderful family moments and many holidays. Some of their greatest joys were bring grandparents and great grandparents.
Joann and Walt were married on June 6, 1949 in Forsyth, Montana, and had been married almost 64 years when Walt went home to Heaven n May 5, 2013. Joann followed him this year on January 4, 2018, and so this is their first anniversary in Heaven. While we miss them very much, we are happy that they are together again. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad. It would have been 69 years today, since you said, “I do.” We love and miss you very much.
When I look at the pictures of my dad and his brother, my Uncle Bill, I can see how much they loved each other. They may have tried to look tough, but there was a lot of brotherly love between them. They were best friends, playmates, but most of all brothers. The way Uncle Bill took care of his little brother, and the way my dad looked up to his big brother…you could see it in their eyes. They were the two middle children with their older sister Laura, being ten years older than Uncle Bill, and their sister, Ruth being 2 years younger than my dad. Because they were together and just the two of them, except for their sister, Laura’s care, and because Ruth was too little to play for a couple of years, the boys were very close….like a lot of brothers are.
Through their young years, the boys worked together on the farm, and in several other work ideas they came up with. They shared a love for guns, dynamite, and cars…you know, the usual guy stuff. I know that when their little sister, Ruth came on the scene they were good 
friends with her too, and she was most likely a tomboy because of them…a matter of self defense, if you know what I mean. Because Aunt Laura was so much older than the rest of the children, I think they must have looked to her as more of a babysitter than a playmate…although she was great when it came to being pulled around on a sled or in the wagon.
As they grew up, they took several trips together to go work the harvest in North Dakota, among other things. I’m sure they had a great time just hanging out together, and finding work and places to stay was fun and challenging. They had an especially challenging time on one trip, when the only place to stay was at the local jail. I’m sure that was a bit odd for both of them. They had to be treated the same as any other prisoner. They took all their belongings, and searched them, and had to know all about their background, but they let them stay on the bunks covered with strips of steel and cardboard…not particularly comfortable, but the place was warm and dry, so they were grateful.
On their last visit together, my dad was not in good health. We weren’t sure the brothers would ever get to be together again, but my cousin Bill Spencer and his family made the trip so that we could make it happen. It was such a sweet reunion for them. They talked a lot, played cards, and in general, just spent time together. We were all so grateful to Bill for bring his dad, my Uncle Bill out so they could have one last visit. My dad passed away in 2007, and thankfully Uncle Bill has dementia, so that is something he doesn’t have to know. The miles between them make it possible to keep him in the dark a bit, because I know it would be very sad for him to know that, and sad for us to tell him.
