We lose one from our number.

We learn this morning of the passing of Blaine Densley Holt, husband to Mary Beverly Garff. A full obituary can be found through www.broomheadfuneralhome.com. Blaine was a native of the southern end of Salt Lake County, marrying Beverly after he returned from serving in the U.S. Navy. Beverly survives her husband. They were parents to three sons, of whom two are living, as well as their spouses and children.
Our family has been touched by memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. This obituary reflects the devotion Blaine showed and serves as a reminder that we are not alone with these debilities when they come to our homes. We salute you, Blaine and extend heartfelt sympathy to Beverly and your children.

A loss to our family

In this morning's Salt Lake Tribune (October 30, 2016) we learned of the passing of a Garff cousin Valorie Garff Cox. Born to Val and Jean Garff on February 17, 1932 in Salt Lake City, she passed away this week on October 26, 2016. Valorie married Verl J Cox on December 7, 1956 in the  Salt Lake City LDS Temple. Valorie is survived by five children, eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren as well as one brother and one sister. Arrangements were provided by Cannon Mortuary, with graveside services at the Elysian Burial Gardens.

Generations Three and Four

Generations Three and Four

George Peter Garff, 1870 – 1928, md 1895, Tryphena Mayer Brimhall, 1870 – 1961

            Rachel Minnie Garff, 1897 – 1988

            Grace Thelma Garff, 1899 – 1968

            Mary Garff, 1903 – 1927, md 1926, Stephen Robert Wells, 1900 – 1979

            George Lynn Garff, 1905 – 1994, md 1935, Kathlyn Farrell, 1916 – 200

            Mark Brimhall Garff, 1907 – 1995, md 1935, Gertrude Laura Ryberg, 1910 – 2002

            Major Peter Garff , 1909 – 2000, md1936,  Mary LaFarne Kimball, 1914 – 1989

            Ina Tryphena Garff, 1911 – 2001, md 1932, Julian Seville Cannon, 1905 – 1981

            Wayne Brimhall Garff, 1913 – 2007, md 1938, Jeanette Parry, 1912 – 1999

Joseph Elmo Garff, 1914 – 2010, md 1940, Kathryn Geddes 1919 – 2007

Mary Ann Garff, 1871 – 1949, md 1896, Benjamin Franklin Fitzgerald, 1859 – 1931

              Mary Genevieve Fitzgerald, 1897 – 1995, md 1920, Glen Albert McMullin, 1894 – 1951

              McKinley Garff Fitzgerald, 1898 – 1960, md 1924, Marilla Sandberg, 1890 – 1970

              Antomina Garff Fitzgerald, 1900 – 1988, md 1924, Frank J. Perkins, 1900 – 1987

              Royalance Agnes Fitzgerald, 1902 – 1923

              Joel Garff Fitzgerald, 1905 – 1955, md 1939, Norma Sutton, 1914 – 1989

              Afton Garff Fitzgerald, 1909 – 1999, md 1940, Richard Thornton Randolph, 1910 – 1990

Hulda Garff, 1873 – 1967, md (1) 1899, Frederick Christian Mickelsen, 1874 – 1928

              Aslaugh Mickelsen, 1907, md 1928, Oscar Leroy McQuay, 1886 – 1941

Hulda Garff md (2) 1942, Joshua Edwin Salisbury, 1871 – 1959

Matilda Jane Garff, 1874 – 1940, md 1898, Bayard Mousley Crossgrove, 1869 – 1948

              Avar Garff Crossgrove, 1899 – 1990, md (1) 1928, Marie Robinson, 1901 – 1963

              Avar Garff Crossgrove md (2) 1965, Roxie Larson Wallback

              Paul Bayard Crossgrove, 1901 – 1967, md 1922, Anna Deloris Heyward, 1902 – 1990

              Ralph Garff Crossgrove, 1903 – 1997, md 1927, Leah Soffe, 1904 – 2003

              Hulda May Crossgrove, 1905 – 1997

              Helen Garff Crossgrove, 1907 – 1998, md 1947, John Frederick Dodson, 1902 – 1984

Heber Nels Garff, 1876 – 1949, md 1900, Louise Murphy, 1869 – 1956

              Ronald Erastus Garff, 1901 – 1908

              Cedric Heber Garff, 1903 – 1905

              Herschal Vivian Garff, 1906 – 1972, md 1933, Daisey Bennion, 1907 – 2003

              Ronow DeValson Garff, 1909 – 1993, md (1) 1931, Mary Jean Hartmann, 1911 – 1947

              Ronow DeValson Garff md (2) 1948, Blanche DeGranffenried, 1916 – 2006

              Adelle Garff, 1916 – 1982

Royal Brigham Garff, 1877 – 1967, md 1902, Rachel Ann Day, 1881 – 1956

              Elizabeth Day Garff, 1903

              Royal Lovell Garff, 1904 – 1994, md (1) 1931, Marba Stewart, 1907 – 1947

              Royal Lovell Garff md (2)1948, Maxine Rice, 1917 – 2014

              Kendall Day Garff, 1906 – 1997, md (1) 1932, Marjorie Marie Heiner, 1908 – 1976

              Kendall Day Garff md (2) 1977 Betty June Grames, 1917 – 2010

              Grace Garff, 1909 – 1993, md 1934, Eugene Dunlap Bryson, 1908 – 1976

              Minnie Garff, 1913 – 1988, md 1934, Ray Longstroth Richards, 1910 – 1989

              Margaret Garff, 1913 – 2008, md (1) 1935, Carlos Lester Dodge, 1913

              Margaret Garff md (2) 1940, Allan Olaf Anderson, 1912 – 1991

Moses Soren Garff, 1879 – 1962, md 1906, Mary Rasmussen, 1880 – 1958

              Newell Kay Garff, 1926 – 2014, md 1949, Shirley Marie Erekson, 1931

              Mary Beverly Garff, 1927, md 1947, Blaine Densley Holt, 1927

Aaron Zebulon Garff, 1881 – 1975

Mina Comfort Garff, 1884 – 1974, md 1907, Soren J. Mickelsen, 1874 – 1936

              Grace Mickelsen, 1908 – 1993, md 1936, George Alfred Payne, 1901 – 1976

              Wilma Mickelsen, 1910, md 1931, Ralph Snow Day, 1911 – 1995

              Woodrow S. Mickelsen, 1914 – 1999, md 1939, Frances Margaret Seaton, 1915 – 1992

              Gail Mickelsen, 1917 – 1996, md 1940, Nile Rawlins Brown, 1917 – 1995

Orson Alonzo Jacob Garff, 1885 – 1965, md (1) 1911, Bodel Marie Nielsen Lyngby, 1891 – 1926

              Ruth Lyngby Garff, 1912 – 1982, md 1933, Moses Woodrow Rigby, 1913 – 1977

              Marjorie Lyngby Garff, 1914 – 1984, md 1960, Dwight Hardy

              Dorothy Lyngby Garff, 1915, md 1937, Wesley Edward Godfrey, 1912 – 1997

              Orson Reed Garff, 1918 – 2004, md 1938, Faye Roskelly, 1918 – 2008

              Betty Lou Lyngby Garff, 1920 – 1997, md 1947, LeGrande Noorda, 1922 – 1999

Orson Alonzo Jacob Garff md (2) 1930, Viola Crismon, 1894 – 1977

              Mary Louise Garff, 1934, md 1954, Deon W. Hubbard, 1927 – 2011

              Peter Neil Garff, 1936, md 1967, md 1967, Sharon Watkins

Connie Mabel Garff, 1888 – 1957, md 1910, Enno Almon Drown, 1887 – 1927

              Merle Garff Drown, 1911 – 1988, md 1932, Gerald Wellington Bills, 1914 – 1993

              Lova Garff Drown, 1913 – 1998, md (1)1935, Elwood Fred Thurgood, 1912 – 1968

              Lova Garff Drown md (2) 1976, Charles LeRoy Bollschweiler, 1912 – 1990

              Earl Almon Drown, 1920 – 1966, md 1941, Deane Lyla Huber, 1921 – 2001

              Fay Ann Drown, 1924 – 1926

              Enno Nyle Drown, 1928 – 1979, md 1951, Arva Louise Peterson, 1930

Regnal Washington Garff, 1890 – 1959, md 1914, Mary Ruby Tattersall, 1892 – 1983

              Iris Garff, 1914 – 2005, md (1) 1938, Stirling Dale Silliphant, 1918 – 1996

              Iris Garff md (2) 1949, James R Rasmussen, 1915 – 1989

              Lois Ruby Garff, 1916 – 2012, md 1941, William B Nowlin, 1916 – 2013

              Mary Elaine Garff, 1918 – 1934

              Betty Jo Garff, 1920 – 2008, md 1946, William Meeks Wirthlin, 1923 – 2012

              Jean Garff, 1922 – 1927

              Glenna Joyce Garff, 1925 – 2007, md 1947, Gordon Ivins Hyde, 1920 – 2007

              Regnal Washington Garff, Jr, 1927, md (1)1954, Margaret Wheeler, 1932 – 1998

Carl Christian Garff, 1875 – 1950, md 1914, Juliana Amelia Nielsen, 1884 – 1960

              Kathryn J Garff, 1908 – 1995, md (1) 1929, Harold Henry Daniels, 1908 – 1986

              Kathryn J Garff md (2) 1959, Charles Wilford Bramwell

Hedvig Elizabeth Garff, 1877 – 1962, md 1902, Ernest Porter Brown1875 – 1909

              Vendla Elizabeth Brown, 1903 – 1966

              Carl Ernest Brown, 1905 – 1965, md 1934, Elizabeth Dorothe Maria Todd, 1914 – 1991

              Max Porter Brown, 1908 – 1991, md 1945, Evelyn Parkinson, 1910 – 1991

              Virginia Brown, 1909 – 1950, md 1936, Arthur Trantor Allen, 1904 – 1984

Sylvia Christine Garff, 1879 – 1960, md 1905, James Henry ball, 1877 – 1947

              Dorothy Ball, 1908 – 1998, md 1931, James Forbes Campbell, 1909 – 1959

              James Robert Ball, 1919 – 1944

Alva Helena Garff, 1882 – 1977, md 1905, Robert Emmett Wilson, 1887 – 1947

              Helen Elizabeth Wilson 1906 – 1987, md 1948, Richard Bitner Tibby, 1911 – 1985

              Garff Bell Wilson, 1909 – 1998

              Margaret Wilson 1914 – 1984, md 1941, Leonard Lowry Thompson, 1904 – 1975

              Janice Wilson, 1918 – 2001, md 1943, Andrew Jackson Hamilton, III, 1911 – 1976

Vera Marie Garff, 1903 – 1931, md (1) 1922, Melvin Oren Brown

              Oren G. Brown, 1922 – 1985

Vera Marie Garff, md (2) 1925, Turner Waddie St Clair, 1892 – 1963

              Turner Waddie St Clair, Jr, 1923

              James Christian St Clair, 1926 – 1996

Erma Rosina Garff, 1891 – 1975, md 1909, James LeRoy Cook, 1889 – 1924

              Sherman LeRoy Cook, 1910 – 1984, md 1930, Vivian Yates, 1909 – 2002

              Wilma Cook, 1913 – 1995, md (1) 1930, John Melville McLean, 1907 – 1998

Mary Garff, 1893 – 1981, md 1918 div, Thomas Maurice Featherstone, 1893 – 1960

              Fred Garff Featherstone, 1919 – 1947, md 1940, Rhea Christensen, 1921 – 1995

              June Shayla Featherstone, 1921 – 2001, md 1952, div, Herbert R. Britton, 1920 – 1991

              June Shayla Featherstone md (2) 1984, Jack Holmes Berryman, 1921 - 1999

Louis Bromley Garff, 1894 – 1959, md 1917, Zentha Luella Myers, 1896 – 1980

              Nedra Luella Garff1917 – 2014, md Ernest Stephen Bell, 1917 – 2000

              Norma Lorain Garff, 1920 – 2015, md 1953, Ervin Hilmer Bresch, 1928 – 2007

Cora Garff, 1896 – 1964, md (1) 1915, William Shirl Wilson, 1896 – 1932

              Shirl Garff Wilson, 1916 – 2004

              Lillis Jeanne Wilson, 1919 – 1989, md 1939, William Dean Lewis, 1913 – 1993

              Bonnie Mary Wilson, 1925, md Herbert Julius Gustafson, 1920 – 2003

Cora Garff md (2) 1945, Roy Edward Helm, 1893 – 1966

Niels Odell Garff, 1898 – 1984, md (1) 1917div, Lois Pearl Reid, 1900 – 1975

              Reid Odell Garff, 1918 – 1997, md (1) 1936, Hazel M Demander, 1921 – 1994

              Reid Odell Garff md (2) 1946, Helen M Henderson

              Reid Odell Garff md (3) 1959, Patricia Ward

              Steven Niles Garff, 1921 – 1987, md (1) Flora Gagon

              Steven Niles Garff md (2) 1941, Deloris I. Varney, 1922 – 2001

Niels Odell Garff md (2) 1929, Carmen Sylvia Olsen, 1909 – 1994

              Gordon Hal Garff, 1936 – 2008, md 1957, Carolyn Hay

Abel Gudmund Gudmundsen, 1885 – 1946, md 1906, Mary Jane Wall, 1887 – 1975

              Alta Celia Gudmundsen, 1907 – 1936, md (1) 1933, Rupert M. Thomas, 1906 – 1976

              Alta Celia Gudmundsen md (2) Mr Harris

              Edna Marie Gudmundsen, 1910 – 1911

              Ralph Wall Gudmundsen, 1911 – 1986, md (1) 1936 div, Beulah Juanita Thomas

              Ralph Wall Gudmundsen md (2) 1941, Mary Ann Fullmer, 1922 – 2011

              Helen Gudmundsen, 1914 – 2010, md (1) 1934 div, Heber Chase Smith, 1916 – 2000

              Helen Gudmundsen md (2) Everett A Boyd

              Mary Gail Gudmundsen, 1916 – 1999, md 1942, Donald Sterling Tingley, 1918 – 1976

              Joan Laray Gudmundsen, 1918 – 1989, md (1) 1943 div, James E. Asper, 1920 – 1979

              Joan Laray Gudmundsen md (2) 1971, David Forrest Montgomery, 1919 – 1985

              Norma Jean Gudmundsen, 1921 – 2013, md 1946, Douglas Leland Morris 1921 – 2004

              Abel Gudmund Gudmundsen, Jr, 1923 – 2001, md 1951, Diann D. Ishmael, 1928 – 2008

Abel Gudmund Gudmundsen md (2) Florence Springer, 1906 – 2002

              Lance Springer Gudmundsen, 1939

Isaac S. Gudmundsen, 1887 – 1889

Mary Jean Gudmundsen, 1888 – 1957, md (1) 1907, Gilbert Carl Sager, 1884 – 1920

              Thomas Gerald Sager, 1907 – 1981, md (1) Clarice Shaw-Green

              Thomas Gerald Sager md (2) Helen R. Boyd, 1904 – 1985

              Thomas Gerald Sager md (3) Edith Rasmussen

              Lorraine Sager, 1910 – 1979, md 1928, Joseph Cecil Royle, 1903 – 1989

              Dorothy Sager, 1912 – 1995, md (1) 1932 div, George Allen Wangsgaard, 1907 – 1980

              Dorothy Sager md (2) Maxwell Young Curran, 1909 – 1997

              Dorothy Sager md (3) Mr. Wilson, md (4) Mr. Bell

Mary Jean Gudmundsen md (2) 1921, Lloyd Candland Stone, 1894 – 1983

Retta Gudmundsen, 1896 – 1978, md 1915, Parley Oscar Loveless, 1894 – 1959

              Helen Loveless, 1916 – 1999, md 1942, Arnold Hildebrandt, 1915 – 1986

              Austin Gudmund Loveless, 1919 – 1998, md 1942, Alice Geniel Allred, 1919

              Gordon Russell Loveless, 1924, md 1945, Norma Lee Roberson, 1925

              Duane Oscar Loveless, 1936, md 1964, Annette Carpenter

Austin Gudmundsen, 1898 – 1981, md 1921, Myrl Goodwyn, 1896 – 1990

              Richard Austin Gudmundsen, 1922, md 1947, Bernice Hattie Sayre, 1925

              Lois Gudmundsen, 1926 – 1929

              Stanley Edwin Gudmundsen, 1931, md 1956, Jane Adele Eddington, 1936

              Ruth Gudmundsen, 1937, md 1961, Peter Fred Clark, 1937

Stanley A Gudmundsen, 1900 – 1975, md 1922, Bertha West. 1902 – 1980

              Echo Elaine Gudmundsen, md 1941, Raymond John Blomquist, 1921 – 1982

              Robert Stanley Gudmundsen, 1931, md (1) 1954, Carol Ann Larasen, 1935

              Robert Stanley Gudmundsen md (2) Luisa Marie Garcia, 1946 – 2008

              Arthur W Gudmundsen, 1949

LaGrande Gudmundsen, 1903 – 1975, md 1925, Alice Genevieve Stewart, 1904 – 2001

              Betty Jean Gudmundsen, 1926 – 1930

              Gloria Gudmundsen, 1931 – 2001, md 1950, Ronald T McBride

              Stewart LaGrande Gudmundsen, 1938, md 1963, Patricia Ann Watts, 1943

Emma Marie Gudmundsen, 1908 – 1981, md 1929, Morris Edward Davies, 1906 – 1983

              Colleen Marie Davies, 1930 – 2010, md 1948, William Penrod Keith, 1929 – 1997

              Barbara Ann Davies, 1931, md Robert Dean Ellertson, 1930 – 1984

              Paul Morris Davies, 1938, md 1972, Myrn Walker Jacobs

              Mary Kaye Davies, 1944, md Basil C Jones, 1936

              Lola Montez Davies, 1954, md Ronald Hunt

Isaac Ray Gudmundsen, 1884 – 1962, md 1908, Marian Adams, 1876 – 1931

              Shirley Rei Gudmundsen, 1910 – 1989

              Mark Gudmundsen, 1912 – 1973, md Kathryn Jacqueline Clarke Binyon, 1915 – 2003

              Vance Gudmundsen, 1917 – 1960

Jacob Gudmund Gudmundsen, 1885 – 1886

Irel Joseph Gudmundsen, 1887 – 1961, md (1) 1911, Elsie Jane Taylor, 1898 – 1935

              Irel Taylor Gudmundsen, 1912 – 1939, md 1935, Edna Margaret Lind

              Max Deacon Gudmundsen, 1914 – 1993, md Helen Lucille Reed, 1917 – 1988

              Dick Gudmundsen, 1916 – 1942, md 1940, Mary Bideganeta

              Lusanne Gudmundsen, 1922, md 1943, Ronald Marshall

Irel Joseph Gudmundsen md (2) 1936, Althea Taylor, 1896 – 1976

Fanny Gudmundsen, 1890 – 1970, md 1910, Joseph Alfred Brunt, 1883 – 1948

Paul Stanley Brunt, 1910 – 1989, md 1935, Nathalia Anna Christensen, 1902 – 1986

Lavon Brunt, 1912 – 1989, md 1933, Joseph Clayton Eyring, 1910 – 1996

Erma Brunt, 1914 – 1998, md 1936, Norman Wilhelm Faldmo, 1914 – 1976

Joseph Mack Brunt, 1917 – 1926

Melba Brunt, 1919 – 1986, md 1944, Bert Amos Lewis, 1911 – 1989

Bettie Fann Brunt, 1923 – 2013, md 1943, John Edmund Coles, 1917 – 2016

Don Steven Brunt, 1928, md 1954, Vonda Mae Strong, 1930 – 2011

Aaron Scott Gudmundsen, 1892 – 1962, md 1910, Lucy Maude Bassett, 1891 – 1968

              Gwladys DeNiece Gudmundsen, 1912 – 1990, md, div, Joseph C. Anderson, 1908 – 1993

              Dorothy Gudmundsen, 1913 – 1961, md 1933, Elmer Charles Pitts, 1905 – 1992

              Margaret Gail Gudmundsen, 1916 – 1918

              Scott Bassett Gudmundsen, 1920 – 1983, md 1941, Jane Marie Halsey, 1920 – 1999

Christian Reed Gudmundsen, 1894 – 1965, md 1921, Margaret Andrews, 1887 – 1978

Abraham Stanley Gudmundsen, 1896

Sylvia Ucilla Gudmundsen, 1898 – 1976, md 1922, James Arno Kirkham, 1896 – 1975

              Jim Kirkham, 1924 – 2014, md 1947, Grace Joan Backman, 1928 – 2011

              Thad Gudmundsen Kirkham, 1929 – 2012, md 1953, Judith Arlene Peterson, 1933

              Kreg Isaac Kirkham, 1934, md Carolyn Thomsen, 1935

Mary Hazel Gudmundsen, 1901 – 1988, md 1918, Alton Dewey Lowe, 1898 – 1965

              Loyal Dean Lowe, 1919 – 1996

              Betty Ann Lowe, 1925

             

              

Some notes at this point in my record

Marie Jacobsen Garff Gudmundsen lived to be 88 years old. She was widowed by two husbands, from sixteen children her grandchildren span sixty-five years form the eldest to the youngest.

Her great grandchildren have and continue to create a family history, though by now they have spread out over a vast country and world.

In my own generation, the great great grandchildren, we scarcely know our first cousins but will have children who ask who they are, where they come from so we will continue to explore and study this remarkable woman, her sons, and their children.

My entry has been a fair hodge-podge, I think. I will continue to learn and strengthen my technology skills to better reflect and relate this history.  I want the next portion to be more user friendly than the last, but it may not be as detailed. That does not mean I do not have more information - I do - but for time and space I will repeat the descendants in the third and fourth generations, from which most living posterity of Marie will be able to link to the earlier entries.

Again, corrections for my errors will make the better record. As I find the need I will report the changes but invite you to do so with me.

Marie Gudmundsen Davies and Hazel Gudmundsen Lowe

Emma Marie Gudmundsen, 1908 – 1981, the last child of Abraham and Lettie Austin Gudmundsen, was born in Lehi, Utah. She married Morris Edward Davies in 1929 in Salt Lake City.

A salesman in several Provo area businesses, Morris and Marie moved to Boulder, Nevada for the last years of her life. Morris passed away two years after Marie while living with a daughter in San Diego, California. They were parents to four daughters and a son.

They were laid to rest in Boulder, Clark County, Nevada.

Mary Hazel Gudmundsen, 1901 – 1988, was the youngest of Isaac Gudmundsen and Fannie Mulliner. Born in Iona, she made the move to Burley when her father opened up the Gudmundsen Department Store in that community.

Married to Alton Dewey Lowe in 1918, they migrated to the Los Angeles area where Dewey worked with the Defense Works as well as a variety of home building jobs and security and care taker assignments in the oil works of southern California.

Alton and Hazel were parents of one son and one daughter. Both passed away in Long Beach, California.

Regnal Washington Garff

Reginal Washington Garff, the youngest child of Peter N. and Antomina Sorensen Garff, was born in 1889 in Draper, Utah. As has been demonstrated over and over among his siblings, Regnal was active in community circles, both civic and religious. He received his higher education at Brigham Young University and Utah State Agricultural College (USU).

At the end of his life, which was the result of a heart ailment, Regnal had been president of the Continental Republic Life Insurance Company. He had been a leader in this industry for over 40 years, Salt Lake City newspapers reported, including management in the Utah State insurance department. He had also served in Boy Scouting, and was active in the Utah Republican party. Ecclesiastically, Regnal served as high priest in the LDS church, and at the time of his death was a member of the Thirtythird Ward near the University of Utah.

Married to Ruby Tattersall (1892 – 1983) in the Salt Lake LDS Temple in 1914, Regnal Garff was father to seven children, all of whom reflected their father’s esteem for community service.

Connie Mabel Garff Drown

Connie Mabel Garff, 1887 – 1957, was born in Draper. Her husband Enno Almon Drown (1887 – 1927) left her widowed suddenly when he suffered a coronary embolus. They were parents of five children, the fifth of whom was born three months after the father’s death. Enno had worked for the B & G Railroad company as a conductor. Enno’s death occurred in Magna, Utah.

Connie had a home next door to brother Regnal for a while, where her children were able to enjoy Uncle and cousins through the youthful years. Connie remained at home to raise her family.

Connie Mabel Garff Drown succumbed in Salt Lake City to hypostatic pneumonia after developing cancer. Connie and Enno rest in the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake City.

Orson Alonzo Jacob Garff

Orson Alonzo Garff, an active and civic minded entrepreneur, was born in Draper in 1885. I find little of his early life, so I rely heavily on his published obituary.

His career in the Insurance industry anchored his family in Logan from about 1915. It was here that Orson worked for the Utah Mortgage Insurance Corporation before developing the Garff Insurance Agency. He was a member of the Cache Chamber of Commerce, the Rotory Club and Temple Fork Chapter, Sons of the Utah Pioneers. A member of the LDS Church, he served as Bishop and Sunday School Superintendent.

He married Bodel Lyngby, a native of Denmark (b.1891) in 1911. They were parents of four daughters and one son. Following Bodel’s death in 1926 Orson married Viola Crismon (1894 - 1877) and they had one son and one daughter.

Orson and family lived in a home that had a large garden referred to the Wayside Garden and this was shared with the community as a serene spot to enjoy. Later the City of Logan named a park for this community benefactor, improving an area now known as the Garff Wayside Gardens, a neighborhood park, located at 100 South Main in Logan.

Orson Garff died from injuries sustained in a fall in 1965.

Sylvia Ucilla "Gene" Gudmundsen

Sylvia Ucilla Gudmundsen, my grandmother, looms large in my mind. I am embarrassed to show how little I know of her.

Born in 1898, we share a birthday – November 27 – and that has always been meaningful to me; of her twenty grandchildren, I supposed that made me special. In reality, when you are special you can develop a sense of responsibility to maintain that designation. So I often felt I was disappointing her in some way. I have learned some things about us both, that all grandchildren are special, and also about how hard it is to disappoint a grandmother, no matter what.

All my life I heard Sylvia referred to as Gene. I understand she had performed in a role by this name at school, though I do not know the play or the school: was it high school or college? She met her husband while attending BYU.

Gene played the piano, and taught piano in her home. In Centerville my dad said she was piano teacher/confessor for at least one student. She did work in various positions throughout her life as her husband, James Arno Kirkham, moved the family through a succession of careers. She worked for ZCMI, Utah Association of Petroleum Retailers, See’s Candies and others.

Salt Lake City, Provo, Centerville were the communities my father grew up in, and it was the last home in Centerville I recall. Main street, view of the Great Salt Lake, Granny Smith Apple trees, Wringer Washing machine, barn complete with Calico cat. In 1960 Gene and Arno moved to California, near her sister Hazel, who had been there since the WWII period. They settled for a decade or more in Huntington Beach.

Gene was mother to three sons, Jim, Thad and Kreg. While both she and her husband passed away in California, 1975 and 1976 respectively, they are buried in Lehi, Utah.

LaGrande Gudmundsen

LaGrande Gudmundsen was born in 1903, in Lehi, Utah. I find a thoroughly enjoyable account of his life that he wrote prior to his death 1975; this account was given to his son Stewart L. Gudmundsen. I found it in FamilySearch.org.

LaGrande recounts moving to Payson when his father was employed at the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company there. Before this his father had a jewelry store and a bicycle shop and everyone had a bicycle. As he learned to ride the bike he tells of being able to only go straight, with a resulting accident of colliding with a teamster and wagon so that the wheel of the wagon rolled over his foot, breaking it. Fortunately, he tells us, the bicycle was uninjured.

At Petetneet School in Payson during his fifth through eighth grades he struggled with being “tongue tied” and shares some of the ramifications of that. He went to Los Angeles Polytechnic High School in California when the family moved there in 1918, after their first season of operating the Saratoga Springs resort on Utah Lake. They remained in Los Angeles over the winter.

The men, Abraham, Stan, Austin and LaGrande drove to California in a Model T Roadster (mother and sisters had gone done by train), the trip taking eight days. Without bridges the automobiles had to be ferried across rivers. Dragged across by horses, LaGrande wrote. When returning the following April, a snow, as Utah is known to have in late spring, dumped 17 inches on them. Without snowplows the family had to wait out the storm in Beaver, Utah. When they got on the road again they only made one mile an hour!

LaGrande became a competitive swimmer while the family ran the Saratoga Springs, working as life guards, laundry workers, yard and grounds keepers LaGrande says he went from a 65 pounds (aged 15) to 130 pounds. All the children were in good health for the activity there.

After leaving the resort the family moved to American Fork. At American Fork High School LaGrande was class president both his junior and senior years. While working candling eggs after high school he decided he wanted to follow his father and grandfather in jewelry and watch making. It was after developing this skill for a while that LaGrande met Genevieve Stewart at MIA functions. They were engaged for two years before being married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple by LeGrand Richards. LaGrande continued to work in the poultry and creamery business for another year at which time he decided he was ready to get on with his own business. Setting up a small shop in Payson LaGrande was in that business for close to 50 years. An outdoorsman by nature, LaGrande volunteered time to the Scout programs for many years.

LaGrande and Genevieve had three children. Their first daughter, Betty Jean, died of diphtheria at age four. Their other children were Gloria and Stewart. LaGrande and Genevieve are at rest in the American Fork Cemetery.

Aaron Zebulon Garff and Mina Comfort Garff

Aaron Zebulon Garff, who lived to be 94 years old, never married and from the records I have located, worked well into his senior age. Born in 1881 in the Utah Territory, he lived until 1975; much of this time in farming. His experiences were certainly similar to those around him. Children working to build up a community with parents who came from somewhere else and often from other countries; large families on subsistence quality land where water neither flows freely nor abundantly; a community largely of the same religion with like expectations. Aaron did not abandon this, as those “unfettered” sometimes do; not having a family of “his own” does not appear to have offered him a free ticket to go to distant places with riches and opportunities.

Indeed, on his WW I registration he is listed as working his own farm, and tells that his mother will always know where he is. This was 1918, when he was 37 years old. A quarter century later, on his WWII registration, 61 year old Aaron is working with his nephew Ken Garff’s automobile business. I see a man who did not abandon the family he did have; the same family that supported him in his turn.

This is a faint picture of Aaron Zebulon Garff, though we honor him still who know him least; I am sure the nephews and nieces in the Peter Nielsen Garff family have particular accounts, but I have found no record to put doubt what I have written.

Mina Comfort Garff, 1884 – 1974, was the fourth of five daughters, and would grow up with seven brothers as well.  I am relying on the account given in People of Draper 1849 – 1932, which account was given by her daughter Grace Mickelsen Payne.

Mina married Soren J. Mickelsen in 1907, and in this union her children would recall parents “as one” in purpose and taking an equal part in making a successful home. This home is reported to have been kind and loving, generous and dependable. The care taken inside was equaled on the outside; Mina’s gardens were worthy of local recognition.

In her early life Mina learned music sufficiently to serve others with her talent and skill as a soloist, in church callings and in community committees and activities. Mina was selected as Draper Queen one year, indicating that she was representative of what that community wanted in their young women. Later she served on the Jordan District School Board.

In marriage she served the elderly on the Old Folks committee, and with her husband we must believe she supported wholly the aid they gave to widows and others in need. Their business in lumber and hardware ‘gave back’, as we say today.

Mina was mother to five, four daughters and one son. Her husband Soren - S. J. – Mickelsen, passed away in 1936 and they are at rest in the Draper City Cemetery.

Stanley Austin Gudmundsen

Stanley Austin Gudmundsen was born in 1900 at Lehi, Utah. He pursued an education in mechanical engineering and was in the first class at Brigham Young University to graduate in that discipline. He also attended the University of Utah. His obituary in the Salt Lake Tribune lists his accomplishments.

Professionally he associated with the American Institute of Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers and the American Society of Lubrication Engineers, both of which denote his comprehension for the work of Kennecott Copper Mining here in Utah, for which he had been a master mechanic and was widely known. He had served as chairman of the American Society for Metals.

Stanley is reported to have brought the first diesel-electric locomotives to the Kennecott mines, and had worked with track shifters and track car designs. Those of us who, as children visiting that remarkable open mine may well have marveled at Stanley’s work (in addition to those gigantic tires on earth moving equipment).

Stanley married Bertha West (1902 – 1980) in 1922. They were parents of two.

Stanley passed away in Salt Lake City I 1975 after an illness. He was a member of the LDS Church, and his services were held in the Holladay 6^th Ward prior to internment at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Christian Reed Gudmundsen, Abel Stanley Gudmundsen

Christian Reed Gudmundsen, Dentist, poet. Born in Iona in 1892, Reed began his studies at Brigham Young University after finishing the Academy in Rexburg, Idaho before going to Chicago to study dentistry. Returning to the West, he set his practice up in Salt Lake City. I am not certain where or when he met Margaret Andrews, an Idahoan from Rexburg, herself a dentist. Close family have told me of visiting their offices in the Tribune Building on Main Street. In addition to her practice, Margaret went into public schools to teach oral hygiene. They married in 1921 in Salt Lake City.

I do not know the projectory of Reed’s writing, whether it was life-long or a hobby that developed as his scientific profession did. Eventually it resulted in enough poems to be bound for limited circulation. I do not know if he had the widespread activity that his sister Fanny Gudmundsen Brunt did. 

As these children of Isaac matured and aged, several migrated to California. Reed passed away in Los Angeles in 1965, Margaret in San Mateo in 1978.

They had no children.

Abraham Stanley Gudmundsen, 21 -23 April 1896, Iona, Idaho.

Niles Odell Garff

Again, I find name variations used. I have our kinsman as Niels Odell, many records have N. Odell, his obituary is under Dell and then leads with Niles Odell Garff; his signature on the WWI registration has been read and repeated as Niels Adell.

In my profession we ask new residents what they prefer to be called, and I want that to be the case here. Please be assured that that is my intention.

Niles Odell Garff was born 1899 in Lehi, Utah. Educated in American Fork and Provo.

In 1917 one Salt Lake City Register lists him as "steno U S Fuel Co" rooming at Vadanis Apts. The WWI Draft Registration card says he is an office clerk at that company, as well as being married. This record was completed September 12, 1918, four days after the birth of his first child.

Dell's obituary tells us that for two years after graduation he worked for the Russell Tracy Company in their insurance and abstract departments.

He then worked with US Fuel until 1929 before moving to Spring Canyon Coal and Affiliates, Royal and Standard Coal Companies until they closed their operations in 1970 when he became president of Utah Coals, Inc. in Salt Lake City.

Further we learn that Dell was a member of the Oakridge Country Club and past president of the Lions Club.

Married twice, Dell was survived by three sons: Reid O Garff, Stephen Niles Garff and Gordon Hal Garff. Dell's death occurred in 1984, his repose is in the Mountain View Memorial Estates in Cottonwood Heights, Salt Lake.

Moses Soren Garff and Vera Marie Garff

Moses Soren Garff, born November 10, 1879 in Draper, Utah was a businessman in Midvale and Magna with his wife, operating several grocery and meat markets. Active in civic associations, he was enthusiastic in Scouting and served on the Midvale City Council for two years. He passed away in 1962.

Moses married Mary Rasmussen, an immigrant from Denmark, who came to Utah with her parents in 1883. Their marriage was solemnized in 1906 at the LDS Salt Lake Temple. Mary passed away in 1958.

They were parents to Newell K Garff and Beverly Garff Holt. They rest in the Draper Cemetery.

Vera Marie Garff was born in Logan in 1903, the only child of Christian Nielsen Garff and Caroline Hildestad of Norway. After a short marriage to Melvin O. Brown she married Turner Waddy St Clair in 1925 and in this marriage had two children, Turner Jr and James C. St Clair. On the 1930 Federal Census, Turner St Clair worked with the Street Rail lines of San Diego.

Vera passed away in Spanish Fork in 1931 of acute myocarditis, at age 28. She is buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery.

There are, in our number, kin yet to be identified.

I have, throughout my studies of my family history thought, "There we are, I have found everyone."
And then a day like today comes...when I get that reminder, as clear as a post-it: You are not finished!

As I started to assemble information for my next group of Garff/Gudmundsen cousins I came across a 1930 Federal Census which showed a child in a family I had not included in any of my earlier records. Perhaps not knowing the link I had presumed that name was of a different family than mine, I don't know. For whatever reason I was sent back tracking and lo, an additional name came into my record, as well as another generation in that line.

I cannot express adequately the sudden pause, the awareness, the excitement I experience when this happens. I hope it never goes away. That "Ah-ha" is so rewarding.

Do not let me prevent you from such a moment! Dive in to your family history; it is unfolding even as you read this part o f it!

Austin Gudmundsen

Austin Gudmundsen 1898 – 1981, Born in Lehi and gaining his early life experiences there, Austin Gudmundsen was boy with an active mind. A tender and thorough biographical sketch is given by his granddaughter Joyce Gudmundsen Richardson on her blog, www.familystoriesjoyce.blogspot.com from which I have made a few notes to include here.

He was studious, and worked hard to extend his education even at an early age. An early job was at the Lehi Sugar factory, where he assisted the chemist. This type of work must have been intriguing and lasted well into his old age when he took up stonework and lapidary crafts.

Austin attended the Rae Automotive School in Kansas City (after which he set up a garage and put himself through college at the University of Utah), the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and took his Master degree at Carnegie Institute of Technology at Pittsburgh. Among these educational opportunities he also worked for Salt Lake City in the Smoke Abatement division and taught in the U of U engineering department.

While still in Utah he was approached by A. O. Smith Corporation of Milwaukee for their research and development division, which position he accepted after completing his course of studies at Pittsburgh.

When A.O. Smith discontinued their research Austin went ahead to start his own laboratory, Gudmundsen-Stratton Laboratories, and over several years filed a variety of patents. One item that I have not found a patent for was a method for detecting and silently tracking submarine combatants which he gave to the U.S. Navy. It was reported to him afterwards that the idea had been applied, successfully.

After time Austin joined McCullough Motors Corporation which moved their management to California, bring Austin and his family back west. They settled in Inglewood, California.

In 1921 Austin had married Myrl Goodwin, who generously, lovingly was his partner thereafter.

They were welcomed into the local LDS communities at every phase of their family life, when Austin was called for various branch, ward and stake positions. These assignments were given by such men as Heber J Grant, Marion Romney, Spencer W Kimball and David O McKay.

We see in these events a balance between the scientific and the spiritual, the thinking and the thoughtful. There was also the social. Austin and Myrl had four children, Richard A, Lois, Stanley E and Ruth, Lois passing away as a child of three.

After the years of labor in these technologies Austin ad Myrl became steadfast temple workers in the Los Angeles LDS Temple. Here they made new associations, including his cousin Alva Garff, and when they moved to Laguna Niguel Austin took up rock work, of which his grandchildren were happy recipients.

Austin passed away in 1981, followed by Myrl in 1990. They rest in Lehi, Utah.

Aaron Scott Gudmundsen

Aaron Scott Gudmundsen, 1892 – 1962, son of Isaac and Fannie M. Gudmundsen was born in Iona, Idaho. I am drawing heavily from an account in History of Idaho, Gem of the Mountains, vol 3. Like his brothers and his father Aaron had a mind for business enterprise. This publication refers to a young man “constantly watching out for favorable opportunities, of which he wisely takes advantage.”

In 1908 Aaron went to Burley where he did work with the Gudmundsen Department Store but in 1910 struck out on his own into the Real Estate business, opening offices at several locations in Burley as his ventures grew. This record attests that, like the other Gudmundsen men, Aaron had contributed in substantial measure to the growth of the Burley area.

Aaron married Lucy Maude Bassett of Rexburg, Idaho in 1907 at Salt Lake City. They were parents to four children: Gwladys, Dorothy, Margaret and Scott. Daughter Margaret passed away as a child.

The History of Idaho article concludes with a list of Aaron’s associations in the Southern Idaho area such as his support for the Republican political cause, BPOE, and Cassia County Fair Association, stating further that he was “keenly interested in everything that has to do with public progress.”

In retirement Aaron and Maude moved to California, where they passed away in Alameda, he in 1962 and she in 1968.

Royal Brigham Garff, Alva Helena Garff Wilson

Royal Brigham Garff, 1877 – 1967, married Rachel Ann Day 1902. From his obituary we learn that Royal Brigham Garff was an entrepreneur of great energy. Owner of Garff Grocery Store he was also listed as a Confectioner in one Salt Lake area business directory.  He moved in mining and automotive circles. One such, the Commonwealth Lead Mining Company and another in association with his son at the Ken Garff Company. He was inspector of weights and measures in the gasoline industry, as well, by the appointment of Governor Maw.

Royal also served his community through elected service, serving two terms as State Legislator and through church service, serving on the Liberty Stake High Council and through various service and civic organizations.

You can guess from this level of activity that like characteristics would be noted in his family. Royal Brigham Garff left a posterity of equal civic mindedness, and of successful industry.

 His wife, Rachel Ann Day shared in this influence. Born in Draper in 1881, she was characterized in the Henry Eastman Day Family history as physically strong, spiritually faithful and an educated, independent woman…very hard working, and taught by example the virtues and rewards of working long laborious hours. She passed away in Salt Lake City in 1956, where her husband followed a decade later. They are buried at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake county.

Alva Helena Garff 1882 – 1977, was born in Logan the youngest of four children and lived there until she was about 8 years old. Her family has posted an autobiography that details some memories of her childhood on www.ancestry.com. Alva’s father operated a Door and Sash mill at that time and had selected, cut, planed and cured the lumber for their own home. Alva tells us that she was “born in a very fine, new two storied house, one half block from the main street” that had a concrete basement. This was a noteworthy structure, the yard in which it sat was enclosed with a picket fence “with poplar trees, evenly spaced, on three sides.” She recalled the fun the children had running through the leaves of those trees in the fall, and then raking them up for “the magnificent sum of ten cents.” Christmas and Mid-Summer celebrations, with their Scandinavian influence, were special memories for Alva.

Alva’s father lost his business in Logan through cross dealings of others, the family removed to Ogden. Alva tells us that they lived in a house “built on a tract of land given to father by the city of Ogden … Ogden was encouraging various enterprises to come … to stimulate growth and prosperity.”

One memory Alva recounts vividly is that of going by train from Ogden to Logan to be baptized. Her mother, she believed had remained devoted to their LDS Bishop Lewis in that place. The rite was completed “in the Logan River at the end of the street Aunt Emily lived on” (believed to be 4^th South).

The home in Ogden appears bleak in many ways, Alva wrote about it seeming unhealthy and attributing her sister’s typhoid fever and her own scarlet fever to that place.

The nearest neighbors were blocks away, and the area, near the railroad, was inviting to tramps, leaving the mother and daughters concerned about their safety. It was here that Alva’s mother died following a long period of poor health. Older brother Carl was in Sweden on an LDS mission and Father was in Hyrum building an electrical power station, leaving the three sisters to care for the failing and then sit with the deceased mother.

 Alva married Robert Emmett Wilson 1905 in Ogden. He was a native of North Ogden and their four children were born there. Robert was a sales representative for printing and wholesale paper businesses. By 1930 they were living in California, where they both now repose in the Inglewood Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Retta Gudmundsen Loveless and Fanny Gudmundsen Brunt

Retta Gudmundsen 1896 – 1978, first child of Lettie Austin and Abraham Gudmundsen, she would make the moves required in raising and caring for large families. Hers was a growing family, with two from her father’s first marriage, two from her mother’s first marriage and four following her. For all the innovative work her father did he yet needed to feed and clothe these children. Steady work would come from without, and finally the family would settle in Payson, Utah where Retta’s father worked at the Utah Idaho Sugar plant.

Retta married Parley Oscar Loveless of Payson and they raised their own family there, which consisted of Helen, Duane, Gordon and Austin.

Retta’s home encouraged the mind as well as the spirit, her children would demonstrate this through various career choices and active church membership. Qualities found throughout her siblings and cousins as well.

Fanny Gudmundsen, born in 1890, was the first daughter in Isaac and Mary Ann’s family. She would, by 1901 be the eldest of three, with six brothers (three older, three younger). She was the first of the Gudmundsen children to born in the community of Iona, Idaho, where there would be Mulliner cousins, as her maternal grandmother had settled there also.

An astute observer, Fanny produced a large body of creative writing, garnering awards and memberships in writing organizations. One book at least, that I have seen, was published by one G Lynn Garff! It has been told that Fanny’s literary activity kept her away from home often -something this writer can well imagine -  and this affected her children, though at least two daughters have left well written histories of their families. [LaVon Brunt Eyring’s children have submitted a history of their parents with a chart that shows connections with (other) notable families: think of Kimballs, Romneys and Kirkhams.]

Fanny married Joseph Alfred Brunt, a native of Kaysville, Utah in 1910. He was employed in management and sales in family businesses. His death came in 1948.

Fanny Gudmundsen Brunt passed away in 1970 in Riverside, California, and with her husband is now at rest in Idaho Falls, Idaho.