A longtime Lewis County resident was posthumously inducted into the Washington state 4-H Hall of Fame last week.
Linda Schultz, a graduate of W.F. High School, received the honor during an Oct. 28 ceremony. Schultz became the 212th 4-H member to enter the hall since its creation in 2002. 4-H is a youth development program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Washington State University Extension.
In a pamphlet to commemorate the honor, Schultz’s sister, Susan Donaldson, wrote that Schultz “empowered people to do more than they ever considered.”
“She was an amazing county agent. She nurtured youth towards taking leadership and was an excellent role model for our youth and leaders,” Donaldson wrote.
Born in 1953, Schultz raised cattle in Lewis County before attending Oregon State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and a master’s degree in vocational education.
According to Donaldson, Schultz’s work in 4-H included working “collaboratively with volunteers to address current needs of youth. This included work with the Latch Key program assisting with teen pregnancy and parenting workshops.”
“Linda was a friend to many and a collaborative colleague who mentored 4-H professionals and her contributions to the 4-H program are widely missed,” Donaldson wrote in the pamphlet.
The 4-H Hall of Fame inducted its first 100 honorees in 2002 for the organization’s centennial celebration.
Schultz died July 29, 2021, of cancer at the age of 68, according to her obituary.
During her career, she worked as a 4-H extension agent in several areas of Washington, including in Kitsap, Grays Harbor and Lewis counties. She eventually settled in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she worked as a professor of youth development at New Mexico State University.
