Rick Kearns

Richard L. “Rick” Kearns passed away August 18, 2026.

Rick was born October 7, 1942, in Topeka, Kansas. He attended elementary school and Creighton Preparatory High School in Omaha, NE, before moving with his parents to Columbus, NE, for his senior year where he graduated from St. Bonaventure High School. In high school, Rick played and lettered in football, at both Creighton Prep and St. Bonaventure. He was named to the 1959 Lincoln Journal Star All State football team as a guard and linebacker. In 1960-61 he attended Huron College in South Dakota on an athletic scholarship. He was starting guard on Huron's 1960 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC) championship team, which led the nation in rushing offense.

Rick transferred to The University of Nebraska in February 1962, where he met the love of his life, Linda Crossett. They were married in Evanston, Illinois on August 17, 1963. Rick received his B.S. degree from Nebraska University in 1965, his M.S. degree from Kearney State College in 1971, and his doctorate from the University of Idaho in 1991. After graduating from NU, Rick spent 8 years in Nebraska as a high school teacher and coach.

In 1973, a long time dream of living in or near the Rocky Mountains drew Rick and his family to Boise, Idaho where he served as a teacher and athletic director at South Junior High School for two years. During that time he became involved in developing school health education programs and in 1975 was named as the Idaho State Department of Education's first State Director for School Health Education where he spearheaded the development of two nationally acclaimed health curricula, which also became models for K-12 health curricula in three foreign countries. He founded the Great Potato Health Conference in 1979, which he kicked off with a 150 mile ride on his ten speed bicycle from Boise to Stanley, ID. Chris drove the pickup with the conference materials and served as his Dad's sag wagon checking that Rick was making safety checkpoints along the route. Starting in Boise, elevation 2730 feet, the ride climbed over two summits including Mores Creek Summit elevation 6118 feet, and Banner Creek Summit, elevation 7,037 feet. He finished the ride in 13 hours 10 minutes. Chris and Rick had some fun stories about that trip. Karen and Greg also helped dad with later conferences. The conference had a highly successful 18 year run helping Idaho teachers and schools deliver important health education curricula to their students, and wellness promotion programs to students, staff and faculties.

In 1984 the family moved to Pocatello, ID where Rick became the first director of the Idaho State University Wellness Center, and also as a faculty member within the Department of Health Education, later renamed the Department of Health & Nutrition Sciences. Under his guidance the Wellness Center received national recognition in its second year as an exemplary program from the Association of State Colleges and Universities. He was also honored by students who selected him for recognition in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers, in 1998 and 2005. Rick retired as Professor Emeritus from ISU in 2004. Throughout his career he served in numerous volunteer activities, but his favorite was as a firefighter with the Portneuf Valley Fire Department, which he did until 2006. Chronic back problems from his football playing days, and four surgeries, forced him to retire from the PVFD.

Rick always felt that his greatest achievement, however, was helping Linda raise three terrific, successful kids, who in turn married and raised his grandchildren. They provided him with great love and joy, as well as giving him pride in their successes and achievements. His favorite memories were taking the family on backpacking trips into some of Idaho's most spectacular backcountry, including The Sawtooth Wilderness, Boulder White Clouds, Big Horn Crags in the Frank Church Wilderness, the Lemhi Range, Gospel Hump Wilderness, Pioneer Mountains, Payette, Challis, and Boise National Forests high country. All three kids, Chris, Karen, and Greg proved to be steady hikers, who always carried their share in and on their backpacks.

The family also followed Jeep trails on weekends exploring old ghost towns. They fly fished her rivers and mountain lakes, mountain biked her trails, bicycled her roadways, rafted some of her rivers, and skied many of her mountains, where Chris and Greg introduced him to the most feared words on the ski hills and mountain bike trails, "Dad, follow me!"

The family outdoor adventures gave the kids lots of activities to choose from as they grew up and moved into adulthood. The outdoor adventures led Rick to become an ardent photographer, winning numerous awards at the Idaho State Fair each year. One of his photos was also a finalist in one of the Nature Conservancy's International Contests. He loved introducing his family to the unlimited outdoor recreational activities which Idaho could provide, while teaching them the importance of developing a deep respect for our fragile environment.

After retirement from ISU, continuing back pain and issues from the four back surgeries forced him to step away from most of the outdoor activities he loved, but he continued to follow his exercise behaviors faithfully every day. Looking for new activities to fill the void from the outdoor adventure activities, he became a member of the Pocatello Art Center where he learned oil painting. Over the following years he completed numerous pieces of art depicting the landscapes and wildlife he enjoyed from his previous outdoor adventures. It was also during the retirement years that Rick and Linda found great joy in following the academic and athletic achievements of their six grandchildren. They seldom missed their football, baseball, softball, hockey, volleyball, dance performances, school presentations, and graduations. The 2020-21 pandemic was especially hard on them due to their self isolation, which like most people during that time, kept them away from seeing their kids and grandkids, as well as attending the grandkids' athletic events. Although remaining self isolated during the entire pandemic until a vaccine became available, they still had each other, and shared time reading, walking, hiking, riding bikes, and snowshoeing. He and Linda were looking forward to watching granddaughter Jenna play Division 1 Softball for Idaho State University, and as Jenna had said, she could continue to look at her grandparents sitting in center field, and Grandpa Rick with his binoculars checking out the accuracy of umpire ball and strike calls.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Archie and Kay Kearns (Columbus, NE), his daughter Karen (Pocatello, ID), and his brother Robert (Port St. Lucie, FL).

He is survived by his wife Linda, son Christopher (Cathy) Boise, ID, son Gregory (Keri) Pocatello, ID, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, including Sydney, McKenzie, Brenden, Emma, Aaron, Jenna, great-granddaughters Rylee, Paisley, great-grandson Myles, and his sister Kathy Kearns Murphy (Patrick) LeMars, IA.

Honoring Rick's wishes, his remains will be cremated with the ashes buried alongside his daughter's on September 3, 2026 at 1:00 pm at Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello, ID.

In lieu of flowers, we encourage you to send donations to Boys Town at www.boystown.org, the Idaho Youth Ranch at www.youthranch.org, or the Idaho Conservation League at www.idahoconservation.org.