Val Dean Wynn

Val Dean Wynn Obituary Val Dean Wynn was born on October 22, 1929, in Rexburg, Idaho. Val was born exactly a week before the stock market crashed on October 29, a fact he jokingly referenced his whole life. He was the fourth of nine children born to Paul Richard Wynn and Mary Ellen Hemsley: June, Irene, Ross, (Val,) Bob, Anne, David, Mary Ellen, and Jeannie. Val grew up farming and ranching in southeastern Idaho, and often missed school for his duties on the farm. The morning of the first day of kindergarten, Val was found lying in a gutter on the way to school, where he had hidden to avoid going to class. Val was a charming young boy with long, golden curls. Several times he was mistaken for the missing Lindbergh baby. However, after being called the Wynns’ “beautiful little girl,” Val went to the barber and asked to have all his curls cut off. Growing up in southeastern Idaho instilled in Val a great love for the outdoors, a love that stayed with him throughout his life. He enjoyed horseback riding, fishing, and hunting. Even when he could no longer walk around much, Val looked forward to long drives when he could enjoy the gorgeous scenery and a chocolate milkshake. In May of 1947, Val graduated high school and seminary from Preston High School. He attended the University of Idaho at Moscow and Ricks College before going to Utah State University to obtain his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. He also enrolled in ROTC and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. Val had a sharp mind for calculations and absolutely loved his classwork, often doing extra chemistry lab work just for fun. Val was very proud of his education, especially his master’s thesis. It was at Utah State that Val met Virginia Webster. He later wrote, “I was strongly impressed with Virginia and I had a strong impression that she was the one I should marry.” After dating for several months, Val asked Virginia to his graduation dance and proposed that night. Neither of them had very much money, so rather than an engagement ring Val gave her his Sigma Chi pin. Val and Virginia married on November 25, 1952, in the Logan, Utah LDS temple. Val loved his Ginny girl immensely. They often teased and joked with each other, but they were always united. Val and Virginia’s first child, Barbara, was born in Logan in September 1953. After graduating in 1954, Val commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. For an outdoor-loving, adventurous Idaho boy such as Val, Alaska was heaven. He flew all over Alaska and the Aleutian chain checking radar sites and observing launches. For years afterward Val would speak fondly of his time in Alaska and the reindeer steak he had on Easter Sunday. Later in life Val would return to Alaska with his sons and other family members for fishing trips. Val and Virginia’s second child, Gary Reed, was born in 1955 while the family was living in Anchorage. Val finished his military service in 1956 and took a job in the Convair division of General Dynamics in La Mesa, California, where he worked on the ATLAS missile. Val and Virginia’s third child, Jeffery Dean, was born in January 1959. After three years in La Mesa, General Dynamics transferred the family to the Vandenburg Launch Facility in Lompoc, California. The last two Wynn children, Janet and John Richard, were born in Lompoc in 1960 and 1962, respectively. In 1968 the Wynns made their last move to Escondido, California. In Escondido, Val continued his career with Convair, where he worked in the electronics division. After twenty-one years with Convair, Val retired and began an engineering business in Valley Center. The business went through several name changes before becoming what it is today: Wynn Engineering. The business is now owned by Val and Virginia’s eldest son, Gary. In 1992, Val and Virginia purchased a summer home in Ashton, Idaho. The family made frequent trips through the years to spend time at the Idahome. It was the site of family reunions, Yellowstone adventures, and Fourth of July fireworks. Val loved the outdoors, and enjoyed fishing, hunting, four-wheeling, and picking raspberries at their Idaho home on the hill. Val was a man of great physical as well as spiritual strength. He took every opportunity to bear his testimony of Christ and the gospel. Val and Virginia served two missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first was to Seoul, Korea, from 1994 to 1996. Much of their time was spent in Tongduchon working with the servicemembers at Camp Casey or in the mission office. Val and his wife also served as CES missionaries in San Marcos, California. From 2000 to 2002, Elder and Sister Wynn taught classes, prepared meals, and facilitated game nights at the institute building. Besides his and Virginia’s missionary service, Val served in several bishoprics and stake presidencies. Growing up on a farm gave Val an incredible work ethic that guided him throughout his life. Even when he was older, he’d often be found out in the yard on his lawnmower or picking fruit. Family and friends will remember fondly Val’s toothy (and sometimes toothless) grin, illuminating his face for everything from greeting a stranger to cheating at cards. He had a sweet tooth and would often sneak into the kitchen to steal whatever dessert was available—there was always room for dessert. “Val Dean the Singing Machine,” as his grandkids dubbed him, sang of his days as a cowboy, being a fighting sigma chi, and wordless ditties of “deedle-deedle-dum.” Val was also a skilled craftsman. Besides bigger projects like the garage at their Idaho home and the additions and rock wall at the Escondido house, Val’s sharp mind and creativity on everything from sequence boards to gopher traps earned him the nickname “King of Kluge.” He had a huge shed full of tools, and there was nothing that duct tape and ingenuity couldn’t fix. He enjoyed leather and woodworking, and presented friends with wooden puzzles, ladder-ball games, wallets, and homemade trophies. He was never without his pocketknife, handkerchief, watch, and special three-dollar bills. Val had a clever mind. He was a whiz at calculations, and would spend hours poring over word and number puzzles, even creating some of his own. Every evening he would tune in to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, a Diet Coke in hand. Val was a planner, and could be relied upon to organize and schedule the many trips he took with family. Besides their time in Idaho, Val also enjoyed taking backpacking trips to the Sierras. Val and Virginia traveled quite a bit, sometimes for leisure but more often to attend family events. They visited Hawaii, Alaska, and church and US history sites. Val and Virginia made every effort to be there for family events like ballgames, concerts, weddings, graduations, Eagle Scout Courts of Honor, and baptisms. Val was a friend to everyone he met. He snuck mints into handshakes, cleaned visitors’ windshields before they left, and mowed busy neighbors’ lawns. He always had a stash of homemade beef jerky ready to hand out. For years he went to reunions with friends from Lompoc and Preston High School. A highlight was a sixty-year reunion in 2010 with his Ashton Ward M-Men basketball team. Ever since his sweetheart Virginia died in 2018, Val would speak eagerly of the day when he would get to see his Ginny girl again. “Death,” he would say, “is the greatest adventure of all.” Val died peacefully the morning of November 17, 2020, at his son John’s family home in Orem, Utah, where Val had lived since April of 2018. He is survived by sisters Irene Godfrey and Jeanine Stringam Derricott (Jim); his brothers-in-law Bert Webster (Barbara), Bob Webster (Lexie), and Dale Peterson (Francene); his children Barbara, Gary, Jeff (Tracy), Janet, and John (Karen); and dozens of adoring grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. He will be remembered by his calm and confident demeanor, sharp wit, and quick smile. Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, a memorial service will be held next summer. More details will be announced in the coming months.

Val Dean Wynn

October 22, 1929 - November 17, 2020