Howard (Stan) Spurrier

Our devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, Howard Stanton Spurrier, peacefully passed away at home on May 25, 2024, at the age of 91.

Stan was born on January 11, 1933 in Fort Collins, Colorado to Howard Richard Spurrier and LaRetta Anderson, and attended East High School, where he was a successful member of the basketball and track teams all three years.  He went on to attend the University of Utah, where he played the trombone in the marching band and graduated with honors. Stan was a long-time member of the University of Utah’s Crimson Club and particularly enjoyed supporting and cheering for the football, basketball and volleyball teams.

Stan married Carolyn Ann Wallace on September 2, 1953 in the Salt Lake Temple and the two of them enjoyed a truly celestial marriage. Devoted to each other in every facet of life, they anticipated each day for the mere fact of being together. In 51 years of marriage, they had no serious disagreements because Ann was always right.  Stan’s love for Ann continued to grow even after her passing in October 2004.   Never a day went by that Stan didn’t think about Ann.  He felt her angelic presence and profound love in his surroundings every day. 

Stan and Ann journeyed to Baltimore in 1954 where Stan gained his D.D.S. degree from the University of Maryland, earning the University Gold Medal for Scholarship, summa cum laude, and participating in Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the National Dental Honor Society.  Later, they enjoyed an internship at the U.S. Marine Hospital in San Francisco, and Stan worked as a dentist at Alcatraz Penitentiary.  Next came a rotation to Browning, Montana where Stan was the dentist for the Blackfeet Tribe. There they both enjoyed the culture and beauty of nearby Glacier Park. Following this tour of duty, Stan was admitted to Boston University where he specialized in Orthodontics.  They were finally able to return home to Salt Lake City where Ann and Stan lived in the same Holladay home since 1963.

Stan was a dedicated and caring orthodontist in Holladay, Utah for 50 years.  He took great pride and joy in helping his patients have beautiful smiles. He took pleasure in the friendships he built with his patients.  He loved when his former patients brought their own children to him for treatment.  He always felt he had the best employees and most became lifelong friends. 

Stan was an outdoor enthusiast.  He loved to explore nature and found solace and peace there.  He created countless cherished memories with his family while fishing, hunting and camping with them.  These adventures shaped a meaningful and strong bond with each of them.  Stan loved spending time at his idyllic getaway in Jackson Hole. He said it was his “Heaven on Earth.”  He, Ann and the family spent many serene and glorious days at the cabin.

Stan was a voracious reader.  He loved reading history, biography, autobiography, theology, and a good Clive Cussler novel.  He enjoyed building model airplanes and rockets, solving crossword puzzles, and was a master of trivia. He was a gifted handyman that could fix, remodel, and paint anything.  He was also a skilled carpenter.  He made many beautiful end tables, bookshelves, cabinets, exquisitely carved Santas, and a chicken coop.  Additionally, he lovingly made a cradle for the firstborn of each of his children.  Stan was very competitive.  Whether he was playing basketball or horseshoes with his sons, pool and ping pong with his grandkids, his favorite games of Password, Catch Phrase, Scrabble or Old Maid; he always played to win.

Stan’s greatest joy was his grandchildren.  He always supported and made time for them and their many endeavors, whether athletic, scholastic or entrepreneurial.  He loved cheering for them at their sporting events, often traveling around the country to watch them play. He enjoyed discussing books, politics, history, and life with his grandkids and bestowing his opinions and wisdom upon them.  

Stan was a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He loved the gospel and had a strong faith in God.  He always did his best to serve his neighbors and ward members.  Stan faithfully fulfilled many church callings including Bishop of the Holladay 21^st Ward, a member of the Stake High Council, a member of the Elders Quorum Presidency, and as a dedicated and caring ministering brother.

Stan and Ann have four devoted children:  Richard Stanton (LouAnn), Steven Wallace (Lori), Matthew Scott (Lisa), and Christina Lynn Gardner.  Stan has 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren (with another on the way).  Stan was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; his son, Richard; and his sister, Phyllis Marks.  

Friends and family wishing to pay their respects to Stan may do so at a viewing on Saturday, June 15, 2024 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive. It will be followed by a graveside service at 1:00 pm at Holladay Memorial Park, 4900 South Memory Lane.

Thank you for being our rock.   You will never be forgotten.