Obituary: John Willis Harmon

John Willis Harmon 1917 ~ 2006 John Willis Harmon passed away Tuesday, October 3, 2006, at The Latter Days Assisted Living Center in Santaquin, Utah, where he had lived for two years. Prior to that he lived in St. George, Utah. He was an active member of the LDS Church. He was born January 11, 1917, in Manti, Utah, the third son of Milton Spilsbury and Rozella Lowry Harmon. He was raised in Manti and graduated from Manti High School in 1935. John married Beth Jensen in Richfield, Utah, on May 30, 1938. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Manti Temple in 1965. She passed away on August 29, 1999 from Alzheimers Disease. John took care of Beth during the years she had Alzheimers, and he said that was the hardest task that he had to do during his life. He married Shirley Hughes in St. George, Utah, on April 8, 2000. Shirley passed away in January of 2002. John was a very hard worker all of his life. He retired from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad January 11, 1977. But while working for the railroad, he also worked at the following: drove a truck to haul ore from Mercur to the railhead in St. John; worked at Accnery in Orem, Utah as foreman of the night shift in warehouse supervising high school age young men; operated three different service stations and a caf? in Soldier Summit, Utah; raised turkeys in Nephi, Utah; started a turkey wholesale business selling frozen turkeys to merchants in Utah County, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Long Beach, California; worked at night foreman in a turkey processing plant and as an inspector grading turkeys; for 15 years in Clearfield, UT John owned and operated Freeport Trucking. After retiring from the railroad he operated Freeport Trucking for two years. After retirement, he went to school and obtained a Real Estate License and worked in that business until the age of 78. He is survived by five children; Janet (Reed) Alderman of West Valley City; John (Sandra) Harmon of St. George; Paulette (Jack) Lomento of Las Vegas, NV; Paul (Shauna) Harmon of Nephi; David (Wendy) Harmon of Santaquin; daughter-in-law, Patsy Harmon of Nephi, 22 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Norma Grotapas and one brother, Richard Harmon. He was preceded in death by his two wives, his parents; one son-Larry Harmon; brothers-Lowry Harmon, Leonard Harmon, George Harmon; sisters-Beth Tidwell Potts and Melva Stevens Brown, and one grandchild. The family wishes to thank the staff and management of Latter Days Assisted Living for the good care they took of our dad. We also would like to thank Hearts of Hospice for their assisting him the last few months of his life. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 9, 2006 in the Nephi Stake Center, 351 North 100 West, Nephi, Utah. Funeral arrangements under the direction of Anderson Funeral Home in Nephi, Utah. Friends may call one hour prior to the services at the church. Internment will be in the Vine Bluff Cemetery, Nephi, Utah.