Adeline M. Schultheis

Addie Gunstrum Schultheis
Born May 2, 1920 to February 28, 2020

Addie wasn't quite done living when she died just nine weeks short of her 100th birthday. She was forever curious about this world. She wrote, "I am eternally grateful that the Lord has seen fit that I lived these 99 plus years, so privileged to have witnessed the wonders that have occurred in that relatively short while."

She is the youngest of three sisters who have all lived over 95 years. In so many ways she made sure she knew the people that surrounded her with love and affection by letting us know her well. She had a wonderful way of communicating.

Her grandmother was a cook for King Gustov of Sweden. Her mother immigrated to America through Ellis Island with her young siblings after their parents were killed in a wagon accident. She writes, "Imagine the courage and strength it took to accomplish such an adventure without parents or speaking English." Her own parents married and moved to Sheridan where all three daughters were born. Her mother never did speak English fluently. She graduated in the class of 1938 from Douglas High School and became a surgical nurse. She so wanted to be on the battlefields of World War II but her husband, Fred Schultheise, wanted her stateside. They never had any children. A short stint in Chicago after the war found her pining for Wyoming and they arrived back in Douglas in 1946. He ran the POW hospital until they bought the LaBonte Hotel in 1951. She was deeply involved in every aspect of the hotel management. He was recruited to manage the Denver Hilton and she returned to nursing in Denver in various doctor's offices and continued doing so until she was a young 84. Upon her husband's death in 1998 she was determined to return to Douglas to be with her sisters, Velma Crane and Elsie King Tysor which she accomplished in 2004.

Addie again writes' "My list of favorite interests is endless. I have seen incomprehensible advancements in technology and science. Changes in transportation (the family had a front manual hand-crank sedan), medicine, health, music (the girls gathered around a still working Victrola to listen to the music of the 30s), education, procurement of food. construction, agriculture, information and communication. Everything has changed multiple times in my lifetime." She experienced the two World Wars and the Depression, and so much more. She was incredulous when she could FaceTime the family as they introduced their newborn a few days before she died. She felt that 99 years really wasn't that long ago, and she felt young and vigorous up until a few weeks before her death. She taught us all how to lead a healthy, positive, and productive life. She leaves behind a very large circle of friends of all ages, and the families of her sisters Velma and Elsie. They all feel privileged to have shared her wisdom and enthusiasm for life.

Heartfelt thanks go out to Primrose Retirement Community of Casper where Addie lived independently, and to Central Wyoming Hospice for their care to make her passing peaceful and pain free. A celebration of her life will occur on her 100th birthday, May 2nd at Primrose.

To share a special message with her family, please visit the guestbook below.