Jan Gordon Dame's Obituary
Jan Gordon Dame, 94, Lt. Colonel USAF, Ret., passed away peacefully at his home in Sandy, Utah on March 26, 2025.
Jan was born October 24, 1930, in Ogden, Utah to William Fenton and Esther Benson Dame. Jan was a hard worker, starting early in his life picking cherries, thinning beets and biking newspaper routes. He graduated from Ogden High School and attended Weber College for two years, before serving a mission for the LDS church in the Eastern Canada Mission. Jan later graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology and was commissioned into the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. He married Marion Bethea in the Salt Lake Temple on September 12,1955 and soon after they moved to Harlingen, Texas to begin his Air Force career and start their family. Jan’s Air Force service took him and his family from Texas to Biloxi, Mississippi; Topeka, Kansas; Adana, Turkey; and Papillion, Nebraska. At the height of the cold war, he flew many missions as a navigator/electronics warfare officer (Raven) in an RB-47 Stratojet. He served as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War, and by the time he retired from the Air Force he had been awarded many honors and medals.
Jan loved the outdoors and was an enthusiastic and outstanding scout and scout leader. In recognition of his service, he was awarded the Silver Beaver by the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Omaha Nebraska. Jan was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served faithfully in many church callings. After retiring, Jan and Marion were called to serve a two-year mission in the Cebu Philippines mission. Upon returning home, they settled in Sandy, Utah where they continued their service as missionaries in the Draper Prison Family History Library, as church tour guides in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, and as volunteers during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Jan was a man of integrity and was devoted to his family. He was a teacher by nature and was generous with his time and resources, supporting his wife, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in countless activities and travels. Jan’s favorite food was ice cream, and his freezer was always full of a variety of flavors to share with family and friends.
Jan was preceded in death by his parents, his six siblings, and his grandson Conor Dame. He is survived by Marion, his wife of 69 years; his children, Cheryl (Eric) Williams, David (Lisa) Dame, Steven (Jennifer) Dame, and Paul (Wendy) Dame; twelve of his thirteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 4, 2025, at the LDS Pinecrest Chapel, 2080 East Pine Crest Lane, Sandy, Utah. A viewing will take place prior to the services from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Burial, with full military honors, will be at Utah Veterans Memorial Park, Fort Williams, 17111 1700 W, Bluffdale, Utah.
The family would like to express deep gratitude for the compassionate care Jan received from Hospice caregivers Carlos, McKenna, and Laurie.
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