Wendy Kae Decker

CORVALLIS - Wendy Kae Decker, 53, of Corvallis, passed away Tuesday, April 15, 2014, at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula from a sudden heart aneurysm, a complication from high blood pressure.

She was born August 15, 1960, in Madison, S.D., to Ernie and Kathy Steffen. She graduated from Madison High School in 1978. Later that same year, her family moved to Fort Collins, Colo. While working at a sporting goods store, Wendy's mother took note of a young co-worker in the gun section that she thought would be a good match for her daughter. She introduced Wendy to Garret Decker; they began dating, and were married on July 21, 1979.

Meeting in a sporting goods store was a fitting start for Wendy and Gary, as the rest of their lives was focused on the outdoors, remaining active, and having a soft spot for animals " all traits they later passed on to their two children. Gary recalled that Wendy even came with a horse, Rowdy, whom she had owned since age 14 and later brought with them to Montana.

The year they were married, Gary accepted a job with the U.S. Forest Service in Steamboat Springs, Colo., where they lived for 11 years. While in Colorado, the Deckers enjoyed spending time together hunting for big and small game, fishing, hiking and exploring on horseback. Wendy, a talented painter and sketch artist, decided to combine her creativity with her passion for the outdoors and learned taxidermy, eventually opening her own award-winning business.

The couple continued those same endeavors when they moved to the Bitterroot Valley in 1990, where Gary worked for the Bitterroot National Forest. After he left the Forest Service, Wendy became Gary's office manager when he opened his own business. They lived on the west side of Hamilton for about five years before settling in Corvallis adjacent to the Teller Wildlife Refuge.

It was on the Teller last fall when Wendy, who began bow hunting in 1981, proudly took her largest whitetail deer ever, a record-class buck " a goal she had always pursued. Another hunting highlight is what the family refers to as "the Grand Slam." One season in the mid-1990s, using a bow-and-arrow, Wendy filled tags for deer, elk, mountain lion, and bear. Most impressively, she bagged the mountain lion with a long-bow during a hunt with Mario Locatelli, the Bitterroot Mountain Goat.

Wendy's ruggedness and determination also stood out in her love for endurance trail rides; that was her favorite way to celebrate her birthday. She also enjoyed her many adventures with the Bitterroot Saddle Tramps.

After spending 17 years enjoying their life together, Wendy and Gary decided in the mid-1990s to share their love for life with a family. In 1993, she surprised Gary by including a pair of blue booties in his hunting gear; their son Mitchell arrived in 1994. Daughter Emma arrived in 1996.

Parenthood brought a slow-down to Wendy's taxidermy business and opened a wonderful new world where she could teach to Mitchell and Emma the values important to her and Gary. Among them: being even-tempered, self-reliant, composed, fair-minded, and worthy of earning someone's respect. And perhaps best of all, her favorite saying: "Life is short, eat dessert first."

Never one who shied from a challenge, when Gary taught Mitchell and Emma to ski, Wendy at age 40 decided she'd learn too. She soon was an accomplished skier, carving turns alongside the kids and accepting fun-filled "grudge" challenge races. She tackled another sporting challenge, tennis, in her mid-40s, learning to play for family fun and as a way of supporting her children in their high school careers. Wendy even was captain of a few local women's league teams. For several years, Wendy was the organizing force behind the wonderful pot-luck food support Corvallis High School parents provide to tennis teams at large home matches.

Survivors include husband Garret, son Mitchell, and daughter Emma of Corvallis; parents Ernie and Kathy Steffen of Fort Collins, Colo.; grandmother Emma Steffen of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and sister Robin Lopez (Edward) of Parker, Colo.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Wendy's name to the Wings Equine Assisted Programs for the care of horses and other animals, P.O. Box 1923, Hamilton, MT, 59840.