David John Ballstaedt died peacefully early Monday morning December 7, 1998 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Born October 25, 1904 in Herne, Westphalia, Germany, David's parents Fredrich Carl and Marie Goddaeus Ballstaedt, brought him to America in 1909. The family eventually settled in Salt Lake City.As a young man, David served a 38-month mission from June 1930 to August 1933 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South America Mission, then the only church mission on the South American Continent. He never tired of sharing his experiences among the German-speaking colonies in and around Joinville, Brazil, where he supervised the construction of the Church's first meeting house in all of South America.
In 1939, David, though still single, was called to serve as the bishop of the Brighton Ward in the Pioneer Stake. He married Helen Taylor on June 17, 1942 in the Salt Lake Temple. They eventually served two missions for the church -- one in Canada and one at the Washington, D.C. Temple Visitor's. In his later years, David served as a guide on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. He was a faithful member of the High Priests group in the Garden Heights Ward.
For many years, David owned his own automobile body and fender business. Determined to follow the counsel of the prophets to stay debt-free, he took a job in the mid-1950s on the night shift at International Harvester. This allowed him to work on his new home during the day - a construction project that eventually took him nine years to complete. In addition to his devotion to the Church and his family, David will be remembered for his unusual capacity for hard work, his love of beauty, his keen sense of humor, and his life-long love of landscaping.
David was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers and three sisters, and is survived by his wife, Helen; a brother, Daniel C. Ballstaedt (Mary Frances); a sister, Elizabeth Ruth Ballstaedt McCarty; and by all his descendants, including six children: Kathleen Taylor Ballstaedt Halverson (Richard), David John Ballstaedt, Jr. (America), Mark Taylor Ballstaedt (Judith Ann), Rock Taylor Ballstaedt (Terri Lyn), Noel Taylor Ballstaedt (Susie), Paul Taylor Ballstaedt (Rebecca), 55 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 10, 1998, at the Garden Heights Ward meeting house, 2220 E. Fisher Lane (2935 So.) at 12 noon. Friends and family may call Wednesday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 So. 2300 East, and from 10:30 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Thursday morning at the Garden Heights Ward Meeting House.
Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 1750 East 3300 South, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Funeral Directors : The Holbrook Mortuary.
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