Emory Eldon Logan

Dad passed peacefully away September 22, 2018 at home surrounded by his family, in the same bed he shared with his wife Trudy for 67 years.
Born September 29, 1922 to Jesse Logan and Editha Boring Logan in Limon, CO.  He was one of six children, raised in a community of farmers and ranchers during a time of economic hardship in this country. His dream was to be a cowboy. He loved riding his horse across the plains everyday. He went to live with the Hartsock family that he worked for in Colorado Springs, on their over 300-acre farm. He also attended CS High School during that time graduating in June 1941. He was a member of the local 4H club and won many awards and prize money.
Dad joined the US Navy in September of 1942 and was called to active duty in February of 1943 taking his first train ride to San Francisco where he would train as a Navy Aviation Cadet. During his training he was injured in a training accident that fractured his skull and caused him to lose his hearing in his right ear, which meant he could no longer become a pilot. He recovered from his injury and received training from the Navy to be a storekeeper for the Naval Supply Depot in Oakland, CA. While working there he met Trudy (Velma) Truesdale and they were married on April 27, 1946.  He was discharged from the Navy May 16, 1946 and enlisted in the Naval Reserves the same day in which he served his country proudly for 38 years and 5 days.  Retiring as an E8 Chief Petty Officer.
Dad and Mom moved from California to Colorado in May of 1946 moving into the first home they built in the fall of 1947. They moved to Utah when Dad was hired at Kennecott Copper in August 16, 1948, where his first position was a switch tender for the trains. They purchased a piece of land in West Jordan in the spring of 1949 where they built their first home using a rail cook car that was cut in half to transport. While working at Kennecott he spent any spare time finishing the house in order to move in by July 1949, despite no electricity or working bathroom. Dad was vigilant about completing the finishing touches (according to Mom’s liking) and of course, the indoor plumbing, before May 16, 1950 when their first child (Rick) was born. The house still stands today.
Dad continued his Naval Reserve career along with working at Kennecott fulltime. In 1951 the Aviation Auxiliary Units were formed and he was able to join one at the Salt Lake Airport. Along with his brother Bruce he also purchased a sand and gravel pit taking on a third occupation. Dad and Mom then decided to build a second home on their property since it was a large lot. He purchased seven hundred army ammunition boxes building a garage with the box lids and the “big” house with the boxes. Their second child (Julia) was born August 11, 1953 and while more space was sorely needed Dad it was quite a feat along with his other three job commitments. The “big” house had a basement and West Jordan City was putting in a sewer system and needing the houses to be hooked up to it, he bought a truck in 1959 to put a backhoe on the back of it. He then obtained a contractors license and began digging sewers as an additional part-time job.  Dad then gave up his portion of the sand and gravel pit because he was too busy.  Luckily he had been promoted to a dispatcher at Kennecott at the time, which wasn’t a labor intensive job, therefore he had more energy to work on the “big” house. We finally moved into the basement of the “big” house in July of 1960. Dad traded some of his land for carpenter labor on the “big” house. He finished the upper floor of the home before their third child (Susanna) was born September 8, 1964 and then their fourth child (Moreen) came along September 15, 1965. The family was complete and so was the “big” house.
The family moved to their Murray home in the summer of 1968 after Susanna had been diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. The closest hospital was in Murray and there was a need to be only a few minutes away in case of an emergency.
Dad gave up his contractor business in January of 1980 and retired from the Naval Reserves in September of the same year. He figured he didn’t need any more work as Mom’s “honey do” list was keeping him plenty busy. Dad continued to work at Kennecott where he was a senior cable foreman until the time of his retirement on March 23, 1982. At this point they had one child that was a senior in high school all the rest were adults and it was their time to start having some fun and enjoy the life they had built together.
They traveled all over the United States from the west coast to the east coast, to Alaska and Canada. Taking long trips in their fifth wheel trailer, a few cruises to Mexico/Caribbean, and two trips to Hawaii. They enjoyed spending time with their friends, square dancing and traveling together. They wintered in Mesa/Apache Junction, Arizona for more than 20 years.
Dad was a friend to all and willing to lend a hand to anyone in need, often without them asking. He did what needed to be done, never procrastinated, rarely got angry, and his sense of humor brought a smile to everyone’s face. He was loving, caring, and happily gave hugs to all. His ability to fix anything was unsurpassed by anyone and he never gave up, his ingenuity was beyond belief.
Dad had many hobbies: woodworking, fishing, snowmobiling, restoring old vehicles, listening to country music, watching old western movies, dancing, playing poker and playing pool. He learned to use an iPad at 92 years old and loved emailing with his family and friends in addition to mastering every Wordbrain puzzle. Most of all he enjoyed riding motorcycles, his last one being his Ice Bear Scooter.
After Mom’s (Trudy) death on March 29, 2014, Dad continued to go to Arizona for the winter because the cold weather bothered him physically and he hated wearing long pants. He met Kathleen (Kay) Garrity from Winnipeg, Canada in Arizona in 2015 and after becoming very good friends they later married on September 29, 2016. He selected his birthday as to not forget their anniversary, as he was concerned about his memory failing. Ironically, he was sharp as a tack until the day before he passed. Dad and Kay took a cruise through the Panama Canal in February of 2018, which was a destination on his bucket list.
Emory is survived by his wife: Kay; sister: Dixie Kinney; children: Rick Logan (Karleen), Julia Nester (Danny), Moreen Logan; grandchildren: Elioenai George (Stephen), Judah Logan, Corin Buchanan (Richard), Christian Duncan (Gina); and seven great-grandchildren.
Preceded in death by his wife Trudy, daughter Susanna, parents, two brothers and two sisters. Per his request the family held a private memorial service.