Allan Scholz Obituary

Butch was born on January 16, 1948, at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, to Major Allan E.V. Scholz (USAF) and Bernice L. Scholz (nee Lueders). Butch attended West Bend High School in Wisconsin and then the University of Wisconsin (UW). Butch graduated in 1980 from UW having completed his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Zoology; he played an integral role in the limnology lab at UW, under the direction of Dr. Arthur Hasler, a well-known limnologist and fisheries biologist. Butch taught biology courses at UW as well.

Butch was a devoted fan of the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks when not playing the Packers. Butch appreciated wildflowers and prairies, waterfalls and mountains and feeding the wild turkeys, deer, and moose who visited him in his yard. Butch had a sweet tooth for homemade chocolate chip cookies and he was passionate about reading, writing and teaching. Butch was incredibly humble, a bit shy at times and a good sport when teased. Butch was undeniably blessed with the "brains" of our family. We will truly miss our big brother and uncle, his sweet disposition, and hearing his words of wisdom.

Since 1980, Al spent his professional career teaching and conducting research on fishes at EWU. Never deterred by a challenge, restoration of the depleted fisheries in the Upper Columbia Basin became Al's mission throughout his tenure at EWU. Soon after arriving at EWU he secured funding from the Bonneville Power Administration and then personally phoned every Native American student enrolled at EWU at the time, and invited them to work in his lab on restoration projects. In 1982, Al was instrumental in helping the five tribes of the Upper Columbia, Coeur d' Alene, Colville, Kalispel, Kootenai, and Spokane, form the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) which is a consortium to promote a proactive, collaborative, and science-based approach to protecting and promoting fish and water resources. Thirty-five years later, nearly 150 undergraduate and graduate students, including members of the UCUT tribes, had begun careers in fisheries research and management in Al's lab.

Al's contributions to restoring upper Columbia River fisheries earned him the 2015 Watershed Hero award from The Sierra Club. Al maintained this exceptional record of research productivity while teaching a full schedule at EWU. This included course work in freshman level cell biology, ecology and evolutionary theory, basic human and plant biology, advanced coursework in fish and marine biology, embryology, and the history of biology. The day after his 2015 "retirement," he was back in his office working on his books about eastern Washington's fish biology, as well as other projects that occupied him for the next decade.

Al was best known for his research on olfactory imprinting and homing in salmon, and his publication of six books on eastern Washington fishes (all available for free viewing on the EWU JFK Library, https://dc.ewu.edu/biol_fac/) and 147 technical reports. He received 145 research grants and contracts to support his unwavering dedication to his work. For those who knew and worked with Al, he is fondly remembered as a generous and caring person who deeply loved his community and Eastern Washington University. He will be deeply missed by his family, his many students, his UCUT colleagues, his fellow faculty members, and friends.

Al was predeceased by his proud parents, younger brother, Mark Scholz, and brother-in-law, Danny Knepel. He is survived by his dear brother, Glenn Scholz (Shawn) and three slightly annoying (yet loving) sisters, Vivian Knepel, Janet Zehren (Mike), and Donna Schmitt (Steve), many nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends. He is also survived by his Cheney family, Jennifer Walters, Monte Miller and "chosen" grandkids: Savanna Druffel, Colton Miller and Katie Boring. Al quickly became part of the family in the 90's and never missed a birthday, holiday or opportunity to cheer them on, whether it was a livestock show, graduation or wedding. He often joked that they were "my kids, too."

A celebration of Al's life will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 10:00 am, with a reception following at the Hargreaves Library Room on the Eastern Washington University campus. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the EWU Foundation Biology Scholarship Fund In Memory of Dr. Allan Scholz via mail to: 102 Hargreaves Hall, Cheney, WA 99004 or online at https://www.ewu.edu/give/.