E. Scott Wolfley passed from this life into eternity on Friday, May 11, 2007, there to be reunited with his beloved sweetheart and eternal companion, Ireta. Scott was born in Star Valley in Afton, Wyoming, on July 16, 1927. He grew up on the family ranch along the Tin Cup Creek just outside Freedom, Wyoming. His parents were Fredrick Earl and Alice Barber Wolfley. Life was hard in those early days when Scott was his father's right-hand man in running the ranch. There were hay bales to be stacked, cows to be milked, fences and buildings to be built and repaired, alfalfa and barley crops to be planted and harvested, financial difficulties to be weathered, and bitter winters to be survived.

At the same time, Scott's thirst for knowledge and reading led his mother to give him what became a prized possession- a dictionary, which he studied in what spare time he could find. Little wonder a few years later he became the Star Valley spelling bee champion. The rest of his spare time was spent fishing, where he tied his own flies and became a master of the streams with his fly rod and hip-waders. He loved sports and played basketball and football in high school. He spent the rest of his life as a fan of college and professional football, basketball, and golf.

Upon graduation from Star Valley High School in 1945, Scott enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17. When the Navy discovered his amazing communication and writing ability, he was removed from his ship just before it left the Navy yard and was assigned to the Navy's Hometown news center in Chicago, Illinois. There he served as a Navy correspondent gathering news of the war and his fellow sailors, then writing letters to the sailor's loved ones back home. He also gathered information about individual sailors, wrote news articles about them and the war, and sent the articles to the sailors' hometown newspapers. To many families, he was the face of the Navy, where he was kept busy sharing his writing talent until the end of the war.

When World War II ended, Scott went on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to western Canada. When he returned, he began his remarkable academic career at Brigham Young University, where he soon met Ireta Brandley from Stirling, Alberta, Canada. Soon they were married in the Cardston, Alberta, Canada temple on September 19, 1951. After graduating from BYU, Scott and Ireta moved to Thayne, Wyoming, close to the ranch in Freedom, where Scott was a teacher and the principal of the elementary school. A year later he moved to Washington D.C. and for the next four years he attended George Washington University Law School classes in the evening and taught school during the day.

Upon graduating from law school and receiving his Juris Doctorate (law) degree, Scott brought the family back west, living first in New Mexico, then Salt Lake, and finally settling in Idaho Falls for good in 1968. Along the way his continual thirst for knowledge led him to go on to earn a Masters Degree in school law from the University of Utah, and then, impressively, another Doctorate Degree, this time in School Administration (Ed. D.) from the University of Utah. Along the way, he encouraged Ireta to return to school and assisted her in getting a Bachelors, Masters, and finally a Doctorate Degree. Before retiring in 1992, he enjoyed immensely his career as a school administrator, serving as the principal at three elementary schools in the Idaho Falls area (Longfellow, Lindon Park, and Ucon) and one in the Shelley area (Stuart). He also enjoyed teaching economics, school law, and social studies at Bonneville High School, as well as teaching continuing education classes for the BYU Continuing Education Center along with Ireta.

Soon after Scott retired in 1992, he and Ireta were honored to be invited to go to Russia, as delegates representing the United States at an International Reading Association conference in Moscow. While in Russia, they were the guests of the Russian government and were able to experience many sites not open to other visitors. True to form, Scott brought back a Russian dictionary and started learning Russian. Later, from October of 1997 until March of 1998, one of the goals and treasured highlights of Scott and Ireta's life became a reality as they served an 18 month mission for the Church to Hanoi, Vietnam, where they taught English and encouraged students to do as they had done, make learning and education a lifelong pursuit.

Scott was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and served in many and varied callings. He was a lifelong, wonderful teacher. Those who knew him marveled at his amazing recall of history, sports, and the events and people of his day. He was a living reference book. He was a kind and intelligent man who was interested in everyone. He would encourage and help anyone because he saw the good in all of them. He was a kind and loving father whose family knew they were always his first priority. He was an excellent example to all who knew him. His greatest joy was bringing happiness to his fellow beings with his infectious smile, his good cheer and humor, and often the special gifts he loved to give. He was himself a special gift to us. We will never know all the people whose lives this humble man brightened as he quietly and unselfishly made his way through his earthly existence.

Scott's hobbies included fishing, gardening, golfing, collecting books, writing, and reading extensively. He acquired a huge library and will always be remembered by his family and friends for the great books he so freely gave to them.

Survivors include his four children, L. Scott Wolfley of Denver, Colorado, Greg (Nancy) Wolfley of Bluffdale, Utah, Wynette (Scott) Butikofer of Idaho Falls, and Denise Jepson of Salt Lake City; a sister, Bartheel Kendall of Salt Lake City; 14 grandchildren; and 4 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife (Ireta), his parents (Earl and Alice Wolfley), and his brother (Richard Wolfley).

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 11:00 A.M. in the LDS Ammon Second Ward chapel located at 1100 Tiebreaker Drive, Ammon, Idaho. The family will visit with friends Friday night, May 18, 2007, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at Coltrin Mortuary, 2100 First Street in Idaho Falls, and Saturday morning from 9:30 to 11:00 A.M. at the church. Graveside services will be later that day at 5:00 P.M. in the Freedom, Wyoming Cemetery in Star Valley, Wyoming.

Donations may be made to the E. Scott and Ireta Wolfley Endowed Scholarship Fund at BYU-Idaho; 220 Kimball; Rexburg, ID 83460-1655.