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Blaine Soelberg loved and lived for his family and appropriately spent the last several hours of
his life surrounded by his family who loved him very much. He passed away on June 15, 2022,
at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, after suffering a stroke.
Blaine’s most important titles were husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and all
who met him were his friend. He had respect and love for all people and quietly lifted and
served others — often those who were downtrodden. His kind, gentle and pure heart left a
lasting example for family and friends to love other people and to love our Savior Jesus Christ.
Blaine was not a man of many words, but instead chose to teach through his actions and how
he treated other people.
Renoldo Blaine Soelberg was born on October 15, 1942, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Renoldo
Truman (R.T.) Soelberg and Nelda Mae Bills. Blaine grew up playing and working with his three
brothers, LeGrand, Glade and DeeRay. They lived in eastern Idaho and then Moses Lake,
Washington, and finally settled in Payette, Idaho. Blaine learned the value of hard work at an
early age and often had farm work and other chores to keep him occupied after school. Part of
his farm work included tending to cows, horses, and sheep. Blaine developed a love for farming
and gardening in his childhood. He also loved licorice and Black Jack gum. In high school,
Blaine was on the basketball and track teams and graduated from Payette High School.
Blaine continued his education at Ricks College where he would graduate with an Associates
Degree. He paused his education to serve two important parts of his life – God and his country.
He served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Great
Lakes mission, where he taught and served people in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. He served
for four years in the United States Air Force where he was stationed in South Korea for part of
his service. Blaine loved his country and was grateful for the freedoms enjoyed here. Blaine
finished his education at Brigham Young University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s
degree in Social Work. The greatest treasure he took from his BYU experience was finding his
eternal companion, Lyn Memmott. Once Blaine tried Lyn’s brown sugar muffins, he knew he
needed to get to know her better. They were married in the Salt Lake City temple on June 6,
1972. Blaine enjoyed Lyn’s cooking the rest of his life, but more importantly, enjoyed a true
partnership in marriage with someone who matched his love for family and service. Blaine and
Lyn just celebrated 50 years of marriage and spent last weekend celebrating this golden
anniversary with their family. They went to Hawaii earlier this year with their children and their
spouses to also honor this milestone.
Blaine and Lyn lived three years in Blackfoot, Idaho and then moved to Payette, where they
would spend the rest of their lives. Blaine joined his father at his tire shop, R.T.’s Tire and Brake.
Blaine would eventually take over the tire store, working there for over 40 years. Blaine was
known for running a business with honesty and integrity and enjoyed getting to know and serve
his customers.
Blaine and Lyn raised a large family with 10 children. He loved his kids and supported them in
their academic, athletic, and musical pursuits. He taught his children how to work hard, how to
treat others, how to love life, and how to love their mother. Blaine’s grandchildren knew that he
loved them and that he was cheering them on. Blaine was a selfless person who worried about
his family and their needs before his own.
One of the highlights of his retirement was serving a full time mission for 18 months with Lyn in
the Farmington, New Mexico mission, where they served in Chinle, Arizona. They loved their
time working, serving, and teaching the Navajo people. Blaine and Lyn continued as service
missionaries for the BYU-Pathway Worldwide program, a program designed to bring affordable
education to people around the world. Blaine and Lyn also loved serving as temple workers in
the Boise, Idaho and Meridian, Idaho temples. Also in his “retirement,” Blaine spent hours
working in his garden and yard and worked part-time as a delivery driver for The Prescription
Pad. He served in various Church callings throughout his life.
He is preceded in death by his parents, R.T. and Nelda Soelberg and his brother LeGrand. He is
survived by his wife Lyn, his children Marcy (Trevor) Ellsworth, Scott Soelberg, Brett (Amanda)
Soelberg, Todd (Nicole) Soelberg, Shana (David) Bence, Kara (Wesley) Newman, Craig
(Rachel) Soelberg, Kristi (Chet) Walker, Marc (Beth Ann) Soelberg, and Devin (Karli) Soelberg,
his brothers Glade and DeeRay, 41 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on June 20th at 10:00 a.m. at the Payette chapel of The Church of
Jesus of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 501 South Iowa Avenue. A viewing will be held at
the Church from 9:00-9:45 a.m. Vault interment with Military Honors will follow at the Rosedale Memorial Gardens
in Payette. In lieu of flowers, please find opportunities to serve and befriend others, as Blaine
would do. A Zoom link for the services is available at: https://zoom.us/j/93065395869
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Blaine Soelberg, please visit our floral store.