Jean Shultz

Jean Shultz of North Bend died on May 17 in Bellevue. She was 81.Jean was born Jean Hobson in Darlington, County Durham, England on August 19, 1927. She met her husband-to-be, Donald Shultz, while he was stationed in England as a tailgunner with the Royal Canadian Air Force. After three-and-a-half years of daily letters, the couple was married on August 22, 1948 in Snoqualmie. After the wedding, the couple lived in Seattle where Jean worked for Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company until their first child, Catherine, was born in 1953; a son, Niel, followed two years later. The family moved to Bellevue and then later returned to the Snoqualmie Valley when they purchased a hardware store in North Bend. Their third child, Amy, was born shortly after. Jean worked alongside Don in the hardware store that became a downtown fixture until it was sold in 1977. Jean later worked at the Coast-to-Coast Hardware store in Snoqualmie until her retirement in 1990. Her husband, Donald, preceded her in death in 2006. Jean is survived by her children; Catherine Westerlund of Snoqualmie, Niel Shultz of North Bend and Amy Wright of Fall City, and by two brothers; Colin and John, and a sister Kathryn, all who reside in England. She was a devoted grandmother of six grandchildren and one great-grandchild and a beloved aunt to several nieces and nephews.A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 28th at 1p.m. at Mount Si Lutheran Church at 401 NE 8th Street in North Bend. Remembrances are suggested to the Snoqualmie Valley Relay for Life (Carmichael Hardware Nuts).