Obituary for Delmar Eugene Malchow
Delmar Eugene “Gene” Malchow, 81, passed away peacefully, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, surrounded by his family, March 14, 2023, from Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure. He was born Jan. 8, 1942, in Shallow Water, Kan., to Roy Calvin Malchow and Francis Odessa (Erskin) Malchow.
Gene first came to Lewiston at 14 years old, when he and his older sister Ida drove from Scott City, Kan. He married Wanda Mendenhall in Kamiah in 1963 and they had a son, Roger. They divorced and he moved back to Kansas. He married Mary Ann in Garden City, Kan., in 1969, and they had a son Lonnie. They moved to Lewiston in 1978, but Mary Ann didn’t like Idaho, so she moved back to Kansas and they divorced. He married Esther in Lewiston on Nov. 26, 1980, when he gained a stepson, Joel, and then they had Brad.
Gene worked as an auto mechanic, welder and learned roofing from Jack Hinton. He ran his own small roofing business, Gene’s Roofing, from 1983 until he retired in 2004. He had the ability to fix or build anything.
He loved living in Idaho, for the hunting and fishing. He and his older brother Earnie went hunting in Oro Grande, Idaho, for weeks at a time in the fall. When he kissed his wife, Esther, goodbye, he’d say, “take care of my kids and my dog.” Gene and his family would go camping on the long weekends for years, with his brother Earnie and family, on the Dworshak Reservoir in Ahsahka.
He loved to fish in the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. Esther’s parents came to visit three times a year and he would take his father-in-law fishing on those visits. In fact, he told Esther the reason he had to buy his first boat was so he could take “her” father fishing.
Gene, Esther and Brad made trips to see Roger, who made his career with the U.S. Navy; once in 1995 to Honolulu, and in 1998 to Newport, R.I., where the three guys fished many days and in different places. Gene and Esther took a trip to Norfolk, Va., in 2004.
After he retired, he and some friends would go to Dixie for recreational gold mining on the claims he and his brother Earnie claimed in the early 1980s. Of course, his two black Lab-mix rescue dogs had to go too. They loved it as much as he did.
He dealt with C.O.P.D. for 15 years and did okay until the last five years. He spent the last year watching westerns on the TV. He loved John Wayne movies, especially “North to Alaska” and “McClintock.”
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Esther, son Roger (January) Trombetta of Cottonwood; Lonnie (Victoria) Malchow of Arizona, and Brad Malchow of Lewiston; his sister-in-law, Barbara Malchow and her family; his granddaughter Kerstin (Seth) Schmadeka, and grandson Zachary Trombetta; great-granddaughters Aubrey, Amelia, Ashlyn and Adley Schmadeka and Hailey Trombetta, also many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and all of his siblings, Earnest Malchow, Ida Malchow-Binns, Ada M. Long, and Harry Malchow, and recently his stepson, Joel, and his favorite dog, Lexie.
There will not be a formal service, just a family gathering. He loved dogs, so donations in his memory can be made to the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter, 6 Shelter Road, Lewiston, ID 83501.
Gene first came to Lewiston at 14 years old, when he and his older sister Ida drove from Scott City, Kan. He married Wanda Mendenhall in Kamiah in 1963 and they had a son, Roger. They divorced and he moved back to Kansas. He married Mary Ann in Garden City, Kan., in 1969, and they had a son Lonnie. They moved to Lewiston in 1978, but Mary Ann didn’t like Idaho, so she moved back to Kansas and they divorced. He married Esther in Lewiston on Nov. 26, 1980, when he gained a stepson, Joel, and then they had Brad.
Gene worked as an auto mechanic, welder and learned roofing from Jack Hinton. He ran his own small roofing business, Gene’s Roofing, from 1983 until he retired in 2004. He had the ability to fix or build anything.
He loved living in Idaho, for the hunting and fishing. He and his older brother Earnie went hunting in Oro Grande, Idaho, for weeks at a time in the fall. When he kissed his wife, Esther, goodbye, he’d say, “take care of my kids and my dog.” Gene and his family would go camping on the long weekends for years, with his brother Earnie and family, on the Dworshak Reservoir in Ahsahka.
He loved to fish in the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. Esther’s parents came to visit three times a year and he would take his father-in-law fishing on those visits. In fact, he told Esther the reason he had to buy his first boat was so he could take “her” father fishing.
Gene, Esther and Brad made trips to see Roger, who made his career with the U.S. Navy; once in 1995 to Honolulu, and in 1998 to Newport, R.I., where the three guys fished many days and in different places. Gene and Esther took a trip to Norfolk, Va., in 2004.
After he retired, he and some friends would go to Dixie for recreational gold mining on the claims he and his brother Earnie claimed in the early 1980s. Of course, his two black Lab-mix rescue dogs had to go too. They loved it as much as he did.
He dealt with C.O.P.D. for 15 years and did okay until the last five years. He spent the last year watching westerns on the TV. He loved John Wayne movies, especially “North to Alaska” and “McClintock.”
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Esther, son Roger (January) Trombetta of Cottonwood; Lonnie (Victoria) Malchow of Arizona, and Brad Malchow of Lewiston; his sister-in-law, Barbara Malchow and her family; his granddaughter Kerstin (Seth) Schmadeka, and grandson Zachary Trombetta; great-granddaughters Aubrey, Amelia, Ashlyn and Adley Schmadeka and Hailey Trombetta, also many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and all of his siblings, Earnest Malchow, Ida Malchow-Binns, Ada M. Long, and Harry Malchow, and recently his stepson, Joel, and his favorite dog, Lexie.
There will not be a formal service, just a family gathering. He loved dogs, so donations in his memory can be made to the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter, 6 Shelter Road, Lewiston, ID 83501.