03/05/2026
We, the family and friends of Shaun Kenneth Wexler, are heartbroken to share news of his
passing on November 22, 2025 at his home in Clarkston, Washington, from ESKD (end stage
kidney disease) and heart disease. Shaun was taken 30 years too soon, at just barely 56, and
still had so much left on his bucket list. We will miss him forever ~ our eccentric, brilliant,
sometimes frustrating, always funny, and deeply-loved Shaun. He has a story yet to tell, and
lived a short but important life.
Shaun was born on November 4th 1969 at Gritman Memorial Hospital in Moscow, ID to
Kenneth L. Wexler of Pullman and Jean Ann (Matteson) Wexler of Lewiston, ID. He was
baptized on Easter Sunday in 1970 at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Pullman, WA.
He leaves behind his son, Ozzy Wexler of Lewiston and Moscow, ID; his sister Shelley Boyer
(Jeff ) in Hayden, ID; his mother Jean Ann Gabby in Coeur d’Alene, ID; dozens of maternal
and paternal relatives, including nieces (Hadley Boyer of Hayden, Shalie LaZelle in Iowa,
Kimberly Bakow in Boise, Camille Zapata in Utah, Holly Campbell in Boise, Crystal Connelly in
Seattle-Bothell) and a large 5-generation Wexler farm family in the Pullman, WA area.
He was predeceased by his father Kenneth L. Wexler in 2013, his older brother Stephen
Robert Lazelle in 2000, and each of his grandparents: Bud and Rosemary Matteson of
Lewiston, Martha Matteson of Lewiston, and Clifford and Eileen Wexler of Pullman, WA.
Shaun married Shannon Kimberling in early 2000 and they were later blessed by the arrival of
their son, Ozzy. This union ended a few years later and Ozzy then had four local family
homes to play in. Shaun later married Mia Rognstad in 2013, and together they enjoyed
outdoor life, travel, his & hers cats, and remodeling her unique older home. They parted in
2017.
Shaun was an enigma to many, and for most of his adult life he wore that with a little bit of
impish pride, and a wink. His interests and natural talents spanned the worlds of music
performance, song writing, robotics, electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer
science, software development, architecture, electronics, philosophy, and communications
engineering. He was athletic, strong, and lean, with a captivating grin and infectious sense of
humor.
Shaun started skiing at 22 months old at Stevens Pass, WA. and attended WSU Preschool in
Pullman, Whitman Elementary in Lewiston, ID, and the rest of his public schooling in
Clarkston, WA. As a child, his Mr. Fixit persona began early, when at age 4, his first Erector
Set structure took over his Grandmother Wexler’s 10-ft Thanksgiving Day table right before
dinner. The working cables & cranes creation was so detailed and operational that no one had
the courage to take it down. So our family of 14 ate on TV trays in the living room, that Thanksgiving
Day in 1973.
As a young boy, Shaun’s reputation for repairing, building, and assembling anything was soon
sought out by adults, at first just to humor the boy and give him a challenge. But they soon
took his skills seriously. He was a handy and fun kid to have around, and he thrived on solving
problems, with gusto and quick expertise.
His 3rd grade teacher set up a dedicated “Shaun’s Fixit Shop” in the classroom to prevent him
from being bored. Mrs. Fitting’s broken vacuum was the first customer and others soon flowed
in. Later, the Lincoln Middle School principal and Admin staff invited this 7th grader to unbox
and guide the setup of the new school-wide computer system after a fire.
Shaun’s childhood years included boating and water skiing on summer weekends and snow
skiing with his family each winter weekend. His favorite place was McCall, ID and Brundage
Mountain, where he skied with family and a bevy of friends and other families from Lewiston
and Clarkston. He tended to his chores and responsibilities without complaint, and was an
easy pleasurable young man to raise.
Others who made significant contributions to Shaun’s formative years were his stepfather
Chuck Gabby, for 23 years, whose two sons spent summers with Shaun and his sister on the
Gabby farm south of Lewiston. Shaun was a skilled combine and grain truck driver, and
brought levity and a tremendous work ethic to harvest each year.
In 1982 his career destination made a significant appearance when he used his first harvest
check to buy his first personal computer at age 13 – a brand new Apple II-C. To his mother’s
shock, within 10 minutes after unboxing his first new computer, Shaun had taken it completely
apart, and had laid out hundreds of small parts on the floor. He HAD to do it, to know every
part, no matter how small, then reassembled the computer to perfect factory status.
During his youth Shaun volunteered as a coach for Special Olympics, delivered Meals on
Wheels, provided guitar lessons to area youngsters, and always made sure the less-
advantaged students were invited to events and gatherings, often transporting them himself.
And, he started his first sole-proprietorship as a 15-16 year-old teenager, by setting up
computer bookkeeping programs for a half-dozen local business clients.
In 1988 Shaun graduated with honors from Clarkston High School, with National citations and
academy nominations for math and academic achievement, and was voted “most likely-to-
succeed.” Always eager for fun and fellowship, he entered the first Mr. CHS talent contest in
1988 with an original guitar solo, and won the First Runner Up title.
To his mother’s dismay, he chose to bypass the stacks of college and military academy offers
in order to attend WSU, his family’s alma mater, as a freshman for the 1989 school year to
study electrical engineering, computer science, communications engineering, physics, and
philosophy, which he planned to carry into a master’s degree in robotics. Despite high grades,
he left college after one year to chase the lure of faster progress on his own engineering goals.
Shaun was a happy youth and young man, who was devoted and protective of his little sister,
Shelley. He took leadership roles in regional causes and activities, but was also private and
contemplative. Though an ENTP extrovert by nature, he would literally check out of concrete
real time awareness when focusing on his research and development endeavors.
Shaun’s most important software creation in early 2000, MacFOH (“Mac Front of House”), was
picked up by the European Concert series, where this original sound mixing software was
Beta-tested on live stages by some of the globe’s major bands in large concert venues:
Metallica, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam, and more. Global venue concert sound engineers
applauded the Beta version of Shaun’s unique MacFOH software, which replaced the large
sound mixing consoles with one small laptop computer, while the instrument sounds were
perfectly mixed and broadcast into audiences with precision, even while each instrument
moved around on the stage. But our serial inventor was too busy "creating" to attend to the
boring details, like patenting his software, despite industry-wide requests for his product.
He had a widely-known soft spot for babies and little children, catching their eyes to share
some “making-faces fun” in restaurants. He loved animals and pets, which all fill our photo
albums with a thousand images of the tender man he was. His home always included at least
one cat, and his best buddies throughout his youth were Coco, 16, and Boots, 21.
If it was unique and challenging, Shaun would step up and give it a try:
• Throughout the 1980s he ran several full Seaport River Runs with his Grandpa Bud
Matteson;
• In 1987 he won first place and a “first world record” in a toilet paper rolling contest,
sponsored by Potlatch Corp, for combining 43 standard rolls into a single 3.5 ft diameter roll in
record time; sadly no video exists of this bizarre feat, as people asked, “How did he DO that? “
•. In 1989 the NHRA World Record for stock production motorcycles was set at 10.36 secs
for the quarter mile by a Mr. B. Neely;
• On 7 /14 /1991 Shaun beat that standing NHRA World Record on his own stock production
bike at 10.34 secs for quarter mile at 133.13 mph! But he had entered the wrong event so his
new world record, while it was achieved and acknowledged... wasn’t sanctioned or recorded.
•. In the late 1980s, Shaun was the founder and lead guitarist of the band called Hellsgate – a
multi-talented group of young L-C Valley musician friends. The electricity of the main vocalist,
the drummer, and Shaun’s lead guitar solos drew dancers to the stage’s edge, to stand and
watch his fingers fly across the strings, mesmerizing the crowds with a few mic-drop moments
when he disappeared deep into his talent, and took everyone else with him. This was Shaun’s
idea of heaven.
•. In the 1990s, as a community member Shaun volunteered often and with great detail. He
was honored for volunteering hundreds of hours to the Lewiston Civic Theater in 1999, as the
owner of Hellsgate Sound, when he provided his sound and audio expertise in “It’s a
Wonderful Life.“
•. He was honored again by the Civic Theater for years of sound engineering, equipment
contribution, and his help with “The Fab Four” and the Civic Theater’s first Battle of the Bands.
•. And his first acting appearance on stage was in “Open House,” as Dex, the flatulent,
bungling burglar. It was a perfect depiction of his funny bone. His endless generosity and
energy to assist abounded, as did the pure joy of being part of an energetic productive team.
In November 2000, his lifelong dream came true and he became a father. Shaun coached
youth football, taught Ozzy to ski the bumps, jumps, and fresh powder, and introduced the
magic of music (piano and keyboard), electronics, and computers to his son. Under Shaun’s
tutelage, Ozzy became an exceptional play-by-ear pianist, having inherited his grandma Jean
Ann’s 1929 Clarendon upright player piano. The young self-taught pianist, gifted with his
father’s natural ear, could attend a movie, then go home to play the soundtrack on his piano.
They helicoptered through the Grand Canyon, boated, fished, camped, and worked together
on countless projects. Shaun was Ozzy’s #1 fan and attended every track and field event.
Even when too ill to drive, he bicycled from Clarkston to the track events to watch from afar, as
Ozzy raced, won, and lettered in hurdles, then college track scholarships.
A week before he passed away, when Mom leaned in to ask about his greatest moments of
pride and achievement in life, Shaun smiled and whispered that: ( #1) “It’s Ozzy. He’s such a
high-quality man.” and ( #2) “ MacFOH”... that his years-long design of the MacFOH software
for music was a success in the music world.” These two things made his life worthwhile.
Shaun was a talented, inventive, intuitive, and creative man of many layers, from raw
intelligence, to his sense of humor, his big heart and compassion for the helpless, for animals
(he could NOT hunt), and his self-taught musical genius. He is already missed beyond words.
His Aunt Nancy Downen Wexler of Pullman, said it best: “The world was not ready for him.
Next century when we are more advanced, Shaun will have his time."
Shaun’s family extends our respect and gratitude to the medical professionals at Kootenai
Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene, ID; St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Tri-
State Hospital in Clarkston, the Life Flight Network, Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston, WA.
and to the Asotin County Coroner and First Responders. Our gratitude also extends to those
who demonstrated a respectful awareness and understanding during his last 8 years of illness.
Shaun can now rest in peace beside his father, Kenneth L. Wexler, in the Pullman City
Cemetery. A private service and celebration of his life, his achievements, and his bucket list
for the next time around, will be held at a later time this spring, to be shared by invitation with
those he loved, trusted, admired, and respected. We’ll see you again before long, sweetheart!
