A man of great faith, love and courage, Richard A. Laux, 73, of Ashton, passed away after a battle with cancer, on Sunday, January 31, 2016, in his home with his family around him. He was born April 9, 1942, to Richard M. Laux and Myrtle Carnehl Laux of Elmhurst, Illinois. He grew up in Addison, which is in the suburban Chicago area. He met Ellen Marcinco of Fairview Park, Ohio, at his home church in Addison and they were married on June 25, 1966, at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Lakewood, Ohio.

He graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri in 1968 and received a call to pastor Zion Lutheran Church in Ashton, Idaho. He and Ellen arrived in Ashton in July of that year. He had asked to be sent to a place where there were mountains. Mountains there were! They raised three sons and a daughter in Ashton. Life became an adventure.

In 1977, the Lord made a change to his pastoring duties when a number of families started a non-denominational work, The Ashton Christian Fellowship, which he pastored until his death. Rich has worked closely with other pastors and Christian churches in the upper valley and the eastern Idaho area, desiring to see the whole church move into biblical unity as the body of Christ.

Rich was an avid reader, especially in the area of creation science. He enjoyed going with his grandson, Aaron, on a dinosaur dig to Glendive, Montana. Rich also served as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor in the area for a number of years. He loved being part of the Ashton community and volunteered for various projects and committees.

He was a man who loved God, His creation, and others. A man who had a spirit of adventure and loved the outdoors. This included hiking up to Table Rock multiple times, taking advantage of the opportunity to take family and friends with him.

He and Ellen have had the opportunity to travel. They visited Israel, India, China and took a Land of the Bible tour on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean.

He is survived by his wife Ellen, of Ashton; children, Richard and Charlotte Laux of Waukesha, Wisconsin, Ann and Sean Donahue of Spokane, Washington, Jonathan and Letta Laux of Kimberly, Idaho; 12 grandchildren, Ben, Caleb, Abby and David Laux of Waukesha, Aaron, Josh, Nathan and Emma Donahue of Spokane, Ashley, Jonathan Paul, Sam and Max Laux of Kimberly; three sisters, Joyce (Ken) Christensen of Addison, Illinois, Pat (Gordy) Wicklund of New Berlin, Wisconsin, Diane (Vic) Kolch of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He was preceded in death by his father Richard M. Laux, mother Myrtle Carnehl Laux, step-mother Florence Laux, a sister Janet Knight and a son Timothy James Laux.

We will miss him terribly, but we do not grieve without hope because of the saving grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We know where he is and we will see him again. And, we know our Heavenly Father said, "Welcome Home" as he reached the finish line.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, at the North Fremont High School auditorium. The family will receive friends Saturday from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. at the auditorium prior to services. Interment will be in the Pineview Cemetery under the direction of Baxter Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Richard A. Laux Memorial Fund at Key Bank. These donations will be used to continue his mission of serving others.