Garth Odell Wilkinson Obituary (1923

Garth Odell Wilkinson of Provo, Utah passed away on Thursday, May 24th, 2018 at the age of 95, due to complications of pneumonia. Garth spent several days with his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren by his side before returning to his beloved wife. One of the last sentences he carefully printed on his whiteboard was “Going home tonight to Mother.” Garth was born May 18, 1923 in Malad, Idaho to Robert William Wilkinson and Blanche Chidester, the fifth of eight children by his mother and the tenth of thirteen children including his father’s children of his first wife, Mary Eliza Bunderson, who died shortly following the birth of her fifth child. Garth grew up in Holbrook, Idaho until the age of 6 and then moved with his parents to Salt Lake City, Utah until the age of 9 when they moved to Monterey, California. Raised in Monterey, California, Garth graduated from Monterey High School. In 1943 he answered the call to military service in World War II and served for four years on submarines in the Pacific after training at the Farragut Naval Training Station on Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho. He sailed out of San Francisco on the USS Yorktown to a censored location and served full time on submarine patrols onboard the SS-188 Sargo and the SS-330 Brill. Following the war, Garth returned to Monterey where he and his three brothers opened a trucking company and lumber yard, which later burned down. Subsequently, he met his wife, Ferol LaRae Poulson, who was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northern California Mission in 1949. Garth and Ferol were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1, 1951 for time and for all eternity. They made their home in Monterey and Carmel, California for 25 years, where he established a residential construction company, and then moved to Provo, Utah in 1976. Garth and Ferol became the parents of six children and 27 grandchildren: Richard (Tamara Hull) Wilkinson with six children of Provo; LaRae (Wayne) John with seven children of Fruit Heights; Rodney (Mischel Youngkeit) Wilkinson with four children of Provo; Brent (Tamara Mitchell) Wilkinson with four children of Provo; Wayne (Michele Bruce) Wilkinson with six children of South Jordan; and Joyce Wilkinson of Provo. Garth also served a 4-year mission with Ferol and their young family to Uruguay, South America. While there, Joyce was born. Garth was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many capacities on the Stake High Council, Bishopric, MIA Superintendent, Church Area Supervisor over construction for five South American countries (Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Southern Brazil), as an ordinance worker in the Provo Temple and on assignment with his wife to the Missionary Training Center in Provo. Garth had an incredible sense of humor and loved interacting with everyone. He was never with anyone long before he would have them snickering or wondering how in the world he came up with such a funny comeback. He rose from the depths of poverty during the depression and World War II to see horses and buggies transformed into automobiles, huge airliners, and manned rockets bounding into space. Yet, in the very midst of his involvement in this great world, he found a way to set himself apart by devoting his life to the church, his precious wife and to raising their posterity in righteousness. Garth and Ferol, forever one, had a great influence on the lives of countless people. Garth is survived by six children, 27 grandchildren; 48 great grandchildren; and one sister: Joy Romero of San Jose, California. Garth was preceded in death by his parents, his sweet wife, 6 brothers and sisters, and a granddaughter (Stacy John) and great grandson (Braxton Rogers). Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, June 2, 2018 at the Pleasant View 8th Ward Chapel, 2400 North 1060 East, Provo, Utah. Friends may call at the church Saturday from 9:00-10:30 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Eastlawn Memorial Hills. If desired, contributions may be made to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple Building Fund. Condolences may be expressed at www.bergmortuary.com.