Franklin Wyatt Gunnell, 80, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 8, 1996 at his home in Wellsville after a short illness.
He was born September 20, 1915 in Wellsville, Utah to Anna Eliza Levitt and Franklin Lewis Gunnell. His father died when he was 21 months old. His mother later married Robert A. Leishman, who had nine children, and they had five children of their own, a total of 15.Franklin was educated in Wellsville, graduated from South Cache High School and attended Utah State Agricultural College in Logan, majoring in Business and Marketing.
He was a member of the LDS Church and served a mission for the church in England from 1934 to 1937. His missionary companions were Gordon B. Hinckley, the Marriott brothers and Marvin J. Ashton.
He married Florus Larsen in April 1937. They had five children. They were later divorced. He married ElMarie B. Hansen on August 25, 1972. This marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, the sealing being given by the then Prophet Ezra Taft Benson.
Franklin learned the value of hard work at a young age. He has done farming and ranching throughout his life, raising hay and grain, horses, chickens, cows and was one of the first Turkey Growers in Utah, raising 100,000 birds and developed, manufactured and marketed "Gunnells Turkey Steaks". He now has one of the finest Arabian Horse ranches in the country. He raises sheep and most recently, ostriches.
He worked for six years as a cattle buyer for E.A. Miller and Tri Miller Packing Co. He worked for 14 years at the Telephone Company as Central Office Manager. He managed the Superior Feed Co. for four years, formulating feed formulas for livestock. He was in the Utah State University experiment dept. for four years. He was sales manager for the Intermountain West Cache Valley Dairy. He owned and operated two restaurants. He owns and operates eight apartments.
He has been a contractor and developed and sold four beautiful subdivisions. He served for 13 years as Cache County Fair manager. He was instrumental in developing the Hardware Ranch.
He was served in three Bishoprics and served for 13 years on the East Cache Stake High Council.
Franklin served for 12 years in the Utah House of Representatives, two years of which he was Speaker of the House. He was a true statesman, always working for the people and was a crusader for ownership and property rights for the individual. While serving as Speaker, he initiated the Gunnell Amendment.
He has always done his best to upgrade living conditions and education in the community and in developing and beautifying areas such as the Lady Bird Park.
He served on the Cache Valley Water Conservancy Committee and as Chairman of the Cache County Zoning Committee.
He also served as financial counselor for the State of Utah.
He has owned his own supermarket, and has co-designed several marketing systems which have proven to be revolutionary in the field of marketing. He also served as National Sales Director and Vice President of Rules and Procedures with his wife, ElMarie for a nationally recognized corp.
He is survived by his wife, ElMarie; and six daughters, Darien (Mike) Swensen, Roxanne (Roger) Draper, Varsi (Tim) Hatch, Melody Jensen, Bonnie (Boyd) Lake, Kathy (Gary) Hansen, and one daughter-in-law, Gay Gunnell, 23 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one son, Lanny and one daughter, Tanya, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Graveside services will be held at the Wellsville Cemetery on Tuesday, June 11, 1996 at 10 a.m. Funeral arrangements under the direction of Allen-Hall Mortuary, Logan.
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