Edward Vincent Baertschi

Vince Baertschi (age 70) passed away peacefully at his home in Ketchum, Idaho on March 13th, 2024, surrounded by friends and family after his heroic battle with cancer.

 Vince is preceded by his father Edward Baertschi. He is survived by his mother Norma Baertschi, his daughter Alexandria Baertschi (Ted Wilson), his 2 stepsons Taylor Benz (Brianna) and Colby Benz (Makena) 4 grandchildren Lucy Wilson, Finn Wilson, Stella Wilson, and Macy Benz. Vince is also survived by his fiancée Erin Rhieldschild, and his 4 siblings Doug Baertschi (Marie), Debra Pietrangelo (John), Jeff Baertschi (Kirstie), and Flip Baertschi (Anita), as well as numerous nieces and nephews. 

Vince grew up in Queensbury, New York with his mom and his dad, his 3 brothers and 1 sister. He graduated St. Mary’s Academy in 1972. After school, Vince made his first venture out west to work for Boise Cascade cutting trees in Colorado. Vince eventually settled back east in Vermont where he began his career in the ski industry, working for various sporting goods stores and then eventually Hart Skis and then Carrera. 

In 1982 Vince married his wife Melina Wall, and they welcomed their daughter Alexandria (Xan) in 1983. In the late 1980’s Vince and Melina divorced, and Vince took a job with Smith Sport optics which brought him to his current home in Ketchum, Idaho. Vince worked for Smith until 2001, when he decided it was time to retire. If you know Vince, you know he is not one to sit still or rest easy, so his retirement was short lived, and he quickly took on many new entrepreneurial ventures before landing at Eye Safety Systems (ESS). It was through ESS that he first attended Shot Show which introduced him to the military and law enforcement communities. Vince eventually went on to start Spear Tactical Consulting, a consulting company to support the military and law enforcement. Vince has been an active member of the Hurting Shooting Center and has contributed endless time and energy to help support the club. 

Vince took great pride in opening his home to all his friends and family. Vince could often be found perfecting his lawn or moving mounds of snow. His favorite place though was on the back patio sitting around a civilized fire enjoying a delicious cocktail with his multitude of friends. Vince loved welcoming both new and old friends into his home. It often became a gathering place for all.

Vince loved his daughter, his 2 stepsons and his 4 grandchildren more than anything. He loved spending the summers with his daughter Xan and all of the adventures that came along with that. He loved helping to raise his stepsons Taylor and Colby and kept the 3 kids very busy working in the yard, cutting and stacking perfect piles of firewood, and teaching them everything he knew about shooting and fishing. Lucy his oldest granddaughter loved her shopping trips with her Papa Vince. She loved to ride the tractors and race around the yard on the Razors. Finn took great delight in accompanying his Papa to the range on a daily basis, followed by burgers at Grumpy’s for lunch. Stella was Vince’s little Jedi. She loved both the shopping trips and the range and was never one to be left behind when he was racing out the door. Vince’s youngest granddaughter, Macy, was only 3 months old when she met her Papa Vince, and he was absolutely delighted by her little smile and her epic hair that stands up on end.  Vince also adored his godson Karsten Sweesy, and took great pride in his godfather role.  He would often cruise into a baseball game to root him on and never missed an opportunity to make a birthday or holiday special for him.

One of the most important values to Vince were the deep and meaningful friendships that he cultivated throughout his life. Vince knew everyone and somehow all over the world, everyone seemed to know Vince too. He had a huge personality and an even bigger spirit. Vince always strived to under promise & over deliver and stay true to the mission. He was the light in every room and will be deeply missed. 

Vince was known for his “Vince-isms”. He was often quoted and could’ve started his own merchandise line with how often his sayings were printed on t-shirts, hats, badges, and other swag. So, as you remember Vince use his “-isms” so he can live on through all of us. One of my favorites as a teen was “rise and shine it’s a brand-new day, you can sleep when you’re dead.” He lived this “ism” every day and was always on the go. I hope you are resting well now dad; you have a lot of sleep to catch up on. 

The family would like to give a special thanks to his fiancée Erin Rheinschild for her love and dedication throughout his cancer battle. All of his friends who supported him throughout his courageous battle, and everyone who stopped by, sent cards and contributed their love and support over the last year. We are so grateful for everyone who has shown love and kindness during these difficult months. 

The family will be holding a celebration of life for Vince on June 22nd, 2024. For more information and reminders, please email vince.baertschi.memorial@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to support camp rainbow gold (https://camprainbowgold.org/), a local Idaho summer camp that supports children battling cancers, Vince believed no one should have to battle cancer especially not a child.