Rune Gunnar Wallin

Rune Gunnar Wallin, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, died of natural causes on December 2, 2019 at home with his family. He was born on September 17, 1926 to Esther Munther and John Hilmer Wallin in Stockholm, Sweden. He married Melva Rene Woodard on November 3, 1953 in the Salt Lake Temple.
Rune served in the Swedish Army for one year, before serving his LDS mission in Sweden. He met the love of his life, Rena, while she was serving her mission in Sweden at the same time. Later, he immigrated to the United States along with his parents, where they settled in Salt Lake City. He was drafted in the United States Army and served in the Korean conflict. After he came home, he continued his military career with the Army Reserve and the Utah National Guard, for a total of 36 years. During his career he attained the grade of First Sergeant in three different military organizations. He led and mentored many soldiers throughout his career.
Throughout his life, Rune also raised a family of five and served in various church callings. He inspired many young men through his service in the Scouting program of the Church. He was active in many different sports, particularly bicycling, hockey, biathlon, and soccer. He was inducted into the Utah Soccer Hall of Fame where his picture is displayed at Rio Tinto Stadium. He refereed soccer and biathlon, and was a successful coach in both of those sports. He volunteered to work for the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games and the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games.  Together, Rune and Rena served three 18-month temple missions to the Stockholm, Sweden Temple. He enjoyed the outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking, and traveling. He made friends easily and loved working with people. He was an inspiration to all and will be greatly missed by many.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years; Rena Wallin, children; Gary (Faith) Wallin, Kathryn Wallin, and Nancy (Gene) Smith, daughter-in-law; Caroline Wallin, 6 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his children; Bryan Wallin and Duane Wallin, granddaughter; Alex Wallin, and great-granddaughter; Hadley Jones.
Funeral services will be held Monday, December 9 at 12:00 pm at the Canyon Ridge Ward, located at 2695 E 7000 S, Cottonwood Heights. Viewings will be held Sunday from 6-8 pm and Monday from 10:30-11:45 am, all at the same church. Interment will take place at Memorial Mountain View Cemetery located at 3115 E 7800 S, Cottonwood Heights.
Service Information
Viewing December 8, 2019 at 6:00-8:00 PM
2695 E 7000 S, Cottonwood Heights, UT





Viewing December 9, 2019 at 10:30-11:45 AM
2695 E 7000 S, Cottonwood Heights, UT





Funeral Service
December 9, 2019 at 12:00 PM
2695 E 7000 S, Cottonwood Heights, UT