My Sweet Grandpa Leishman

Gary Dean Leishman 3/2/1934 ~ 3/21/2009
Gary Dean Leishman, 75, passed away at home on Saturday, March 21, 2009 in Farmington, Utah, after a valiant struggle with cancer. He was born March 2, 1934 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Mark Brenchley and Florence Cragun Leishman. He was the youngest of three sons. He grew up in the Pioneer Stake in Salt Lake City. He served an LDS mission in Australia from 1954 to 1956. He married Yvonne Ward on September 14, 1956 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958. He was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He held many positions of responsibility and especially enjoyed his time serving in the Sunday School. He loved the scriptures and enjoyed studying and teaching the principles of the gospel. Gary was employed by the Salt Lake School District for many years. He worked as a teacher, a counselor, and a district-wide educational psychologist. He also worked at Brendell Manufacturing with his brother and sons. He was a very hard-working and self-reliant man. Throughout his life, he would do whatever he could do himself. If he did not know how to do something, he learned how to do it. He greatly valued education and was an avid life-long learner. He and his wife, Yvonne, enjoyed spending his last years personally designing, building, and spending time at their family cabin in Summit County. Gary taught his children the values of hard work, persistence, learning, and education. He taught both in word and in deed. Over the years, his children could be found by his side, learning how to perform any number of tasks and discussing any number of topics. He loved spending time with them and his grandchildren. His grandchildren could often be found on his knee, with smiles gracing both their faces and his. He would teach, tease, and coax with a gentleness that he developed over the years. He asked questions, respected opinions, and supported his children and grandchildren in their own choices and decisions. He loved his immediate and extended family dearly and was beloved by them in return. Gary is survived by his wife, Yvonne; his children, David (Shauna), Marston, Cheshire, England, Penny (Kelly) McKinlay, Blackfoot, ID, Tyler (Michelle), Hillsboro, OR, Timothy (Joye), Springville, UT, Todd (Cindy), Alpine, UT, Blair (Rebecca), Lehi, UT, Aaron (Leah), Farmington, UT, Matthew (Amy), Kaysville, UT, and Adam (Lara), Farmington, UT; 31 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his two brothers, Brent Leishman and Lowell Leishman (Bountiful). Gary was preceded in death by his parents, Mark and Florence Leishman. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, March 26, 2009, at the Farmington South Stake LDS Chapel, 200 East 750 South, Farmington. Friends may call at the Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, on Wednesday, March 25 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. or Thursday at the church from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Interment at the Farmington Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the LDS Perpetual Education fund.