Val Garner

Val Douglas Garner of Ammon, Idaho, died Saturday, April 16, 2011, at Gables Assisted Living in Idaho Falls, Idaho, of natural causes. He was 87. Val was born June 1, 1923, in Sugar City, Idaho, to William Lawrence Garner and Lottie Mae Pincock. He was the fifth of eight children. He grew up in the rural community of Sugar City, where he worked and played on the farm. He attended schools there until his senior year, when the family moved to Ammon. He graduated from Ammon High School in 1941. Val married Helen Virginia Leitzell Nov. 4, 1942, in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Salt Lake City Temple. They loved each other deeply and found joy in parenting their five children and, later, in being grandparents. Theirs was a special relationship. He adored her, and she always saw the goodness and potential in him. She was a pillar of strength to him, and his devotion to her made him a better man. Shortly after they married, Val served in the United States Army and fought in the European Theater of World War II. He was seriously wounded in Germany during his service and received the Purple Heart. For many years, Val worked as a meat cutter and salesman. Many remember him working at Kelly’s Store. He later opened his own meat-cutting business before then taking employment with Taylor Meat Company. Val left meat cutting and worked in retail carpet sales until he retired. Val’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will remember him for his kindness, gentleness and sense of humor. Family gatherings were frequent, and everyone loved to listen to his stories of growing up on the farm. He also had a way of telling a story that seemed serious, then turning it into a joke that left everyone laughing. Family reunions were great fun, with a piñata being a centerpiece of each one. Val loved to pull the piñata up and down on a pulley, teasing the grandchildren as they tried to break it open. Val enjoyed a variety of pastimes. For many years, he fished the waterways of eastern Idaho, especially streams and rivers in Island Park and along the Teton River and Willow Creek. Fly-fishing was a passion for him and gave him a peaceful solitude. Similarly, he also enjoyed hunting pheasant and taking long rides in his pickup truck. Later, Val tried his hand at oil painting landscapes. He produced several scenic pieces that became impressed in the minds of anyone who saw them hanging on the walls of his home. Val was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a counselor in a bishopric in the old Ammon Second Ward. He also served as a high priest group leader and in many callings as a teacher. In the mid-1980s, he and Virginia served a leadership mission in the Santa Rosa Mission amongst the majestic redwoods of northern California. They taught church members there how to run a branch and its auxiliaries. Their service in the church and on a mission inspired family and friends, who took their example as an influence to do good for others. Virginia passed away Feb. 15, 1990, after a struggle with cancer. Her passing was incredibly difficult for him, as was that of his daughter, Kathleen, who died at age 9 on Oct. 31, 1953. He looked forward to the day he would be able to rejoin his wife and daughter. Knowledge of that reunion has comforted his surviving family. Val was also preceded in death by his parents and five siblings: Wanda Stucki, Jay Garner, Gail Allen, Don Garner, and Nedene Whitehead. He is survived by four children: Leslee (Mike) Freeman of Ammon, Douglas (Joyce) Garner of Centerville, Utah, Blair (Debra) Garner of Ammon, and Scott (Sydney) Garner of Centerville, Utah; 25 grandchildren, and 61 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Joseph (Loris) Garner, of Preston and sister Elizabeth Garner Peterson of Boise. Funeral services will be Saturday, April 23, 2011, at 11 a.m. at Ammon LDS 24th Ward meetinghouse at 3934 E. 49 S. in Ammon. Family and friends may attend a viewing Friday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side, 963 S. Ammon Road, and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to services Saturday at the church. Interment will be in the Ammon Cemetery. &nbsp Born: June 1, 1923&nbsp Place of Birth: Sugar City, ID&nbsp Death: April 16, 2011&nbsp Place of Death: Ammon, ID&nbsp Occupation: Meat Cutter&nbsp Hobbies: Fishing, Painting, Hunting Pheasant, Rides in his Truck

Funeral Services - Saturday

Saturday April 23, 2011 , 11:00 a.m. at Ammon LDS 24th Ward The family will visit with friends from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Wood Funeral Home East Side, 963 South Ammon Road, and Saturday from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Ammon Cemetery. Share your thoughts and memories in the guestbook.