Paul 'Ted' Schonstrom III

Paul "Ted" Schonstrom, III, 50, of Mountain Home, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, at a local hospital.

A memorial service was held on Monday, Sept. 10, at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel. Military honors were provided by the American Legion Post #26 Honor Guard.

Paul, known to his friends as Ted, has returned home to the Lord.

Ted was born in Colorado and the West was in his blood. He loved the mountains.

Ted had the unique privilege of being connected to all four branches of the military.

As a child, he traveled the world as an Army dependent.

After his high school graduation, Ted worked a variety of jobs. It was then he decided he belonged in the U.S. Navy. He enlisted and became a Navy medic.

It was at this time that he touched his third branch of service. He volunteered to be a field medic for the U.S. Marine Corps.

After eight years of service, "Doc" Schonstrom fell in love with the U.S. Air Force. At his last duty station, he met Deborah, who was active duty Air Force. They were married on Aug. 1, 1994, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

So Ted touched his last branch of service as dependent husband and father to Deborah's two young sons. Ted's first duty station as a dependent husband was a small NATO base in Germany.

Finally, the family was able to call Mountain Home "home" in 2000.

Ted worked for many years as a mechanic. He thought he had found his calling.

Then he had the opportunity to join the Elmore County Sheriff's Department. It was a perfect fit. He attended POST Academy and became a detention deputy.

Ted enjoyed building models and N-scale train layouts.

He became an avid fly fisherman.

Ted built cigar box guitars and decided that would be his retirement activity.

Ted is survived by his wife, Deborah, of Mountain Home, his sons, Jeffery Garvey and Adam and his wife, Katie Garvey, all of Boise, his parents, Paul and Margaret Schonstrom, of Fort Morgan, Colo., his sisters, Seva Schonstrom, of Colorado, Katrina and her husband, David Starkweather, and his neice, Annika, of Oregon, his aunt, Cathy Leavitt, of California, and his cousins, Tristin Cassidy and Diron Cassidy.

He was preceded in death by both sets of grandparents.

Memorials in Ted's name can be sent to: American Heart Association, 270 S. Orchard, Suite B, Boise, ID 83705, or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 424 E. 92nd St., New York, NY 10128-6804.