Van Lloyd Haynie's Obituary
Life Story of Van Lloyd Haynie
On October 1, 1929, a recent graduate of Brigham Young College, Tony Haynie, took a job with Mendenhall Auto Parts in Salt Lake City, with a salary of $90 a month to support him and his wife, Bernice, and their two young sons, Robert and Tony. By the end of that month, the country had been thrust into the Great Depression. Somehow, the Haynie family survived and so did Mendenhall Auto Parts. Within two years Mendenhall purchased another auto parts store in Logan, Utah, and the Haynie family moved there so Tony could manage the store and begin the process of buying it.
At the time, Logan had a population of approximately 10,000 people. The family purchased a small home on Marindale Avenue and on June 27, 1933, Bernice gave birth to their third son, Van Lloyd Haynie. That same year, Hitler came into power in Germany, an indoor swimming pool was built at the White House, and John Dillinger robbed his first bank. It was a prodigious year.
The family later purchased a three-bedroom home on Center Street in Logan. At that time, Lloyd looked something like a pirate because he wore a patch over one eye after being diagnosed with what is commonly called “lazy eye.” Other than burnishing his renegade reputation, Lloyd’s stint of piracy did him little good and he remained almost blind in that eye for the rest of his life.
In addition to Robert and Tony, Lloyd would eventually be joined by sisters Anne and Linda. All but Linda are currently deceased.
When World War II broke out, Lloyd was worried like everyone else. He remembered a large map on a table in their living room where the successes and failures of the Allied armies were carefully tracked and marked. He also remembered sneaking over to the Cache County Fairgrounds to talk through the fence to German POWs who were housed there during the war.
On July 12, 1941, at the age of 8, Lloyd was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He attended Woodruff Elementary School and Logan Junior High School. He was an excellent student, although athletics captured most of his time and attention. He particularly loved basketball and was the starting center on the Logan Junior High School basketball team when they won the conference championship.
As a young boy Lloyd earned money by working at the auto parts store, which his father was in the process of buying. Lloyd used the money he earned to purchase a Cushman motor scooter when he was 14-years old. Summers were spent playing sports, listening to radio shows like Jack Benny, Inner Sanctum, and Mercury Theater, swimming at Hyrum Dam, hiking in the mountains, watching movies at the Capitol theater, visiting local ice cream parlors, and listening to music on coin operated juke boxes.
While attending Logan High School, Lloyd was active in athletics, including earning letters in basketball, football, and track. He played on the varsity basketball team his junior and senior years and competed in the state tournament both years. He also was a company commander in the school’s military program, ROTC. He took full advantage of cruising in his father’s fancy Cadillac and eventually bought and restored his own 1941 Chevy Coupe.
After high school, Lloyd decided to attend Utah Agricultural College, now Utah State University, where he began playing basketball, but after one year decided to focus on academics. He excelled in his studies and majored in accounting. His social life was boosted by his membership in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, which consistently had the highest GPA of all fraternities. He was also a member of the college’s ROTC program for all four years.
On January 12, 1953, while attending college, Lloyd received the Melchizedek Priesthood and was ordained an Elder. After graduating from college in 1955, Lloyd married Sarah LuLu Lewis in the Logan Utah Temple.
Lloyd and Sarah moved to Maryland where Lloyd began training as an Army officer and a tank commander at the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. He ended up being ranked second in his officer training class. At some point, a commanding officer decided that it was a bad idea to have someone with only one good eye making decisions about where tanks should fire their cannons. As a result, he was transferred to the Army Audit Department. In 1956, while still in the Army, Lloyd and Sarah had their first son, Van.
As Lloyd was nearing completion of his military service in 1957, his commanding officer encouraged him to apply to the MBA program at Stanford University. He applied, was accepted, and given a scholarship. Lloyd and Sarah welcomed a second child, Bryan, when the MBA program began. Bryan was a very colicky baby and Lloyd learned to function on just a few hours’ sleep at night as he attended classes and worked to support the family. A third son, Allen, was born during Lloyd’s second year in the MBA program.
Lloyd did well in his classes, but always wondered how much better he might have done if he had had more sleep and had not had to work while attending school. Upon graduating from Stanford in 1959, he accepted a job at Lockheed Corporation. He and Sarah had another child, this time a daughter, Michelle, purchased their first home in Cupertino, California, and began moving forward in life.
Unfortunately, six years later Lloyd and Sarah divorced, and Lloyd’s life suddenly became very challenging as he assumed responsibility for the day-to-day care of their four children ages 6, 7, 8, and 9, for the nine school months out of the year. He abandoned his plans for a demanding and lucrative corporate career, moved to Logan with his children for additional family support, and began working in the auto parts store, which was now fully owned by his father.
Several months after the divorce, the Haynie family purchased another auto parts store in Bountiful and Lloyd moved there to manage the store. He purchased a small home in North Salt Lake and began doing the cooking, cleaning, washing, helping with homework, and most importantly, encouraging his children to participate in Church.
The result was good as all three sons went on to serve missions and all four children were married in the temple. Still, at the time Lloyd’s family was the only single parent household in the ward and sometimes members did not know how to interact with him and his slightly unsupervised and independently-minded children. A young woman in the ward, however, demonstrated perhaps the greatest level of understanding. When it came time to hand out little potted plants to the mothers and women of the ward on Mother’s Day, she handed one to Lloyd and said, “Brother Haynie, you deserve one of these.”
After single-parenting for six years, on July 15, 1971, Lloyd married Verla Bond Groesbeck, whose husband had passed away. They took on the joint responsibility of raising Lloyd’s four children and Verla’s two children, Brent and Diane. For the next 38 years, Lloyd and Verla worked together to build a home, care for children, encourage the pursuit of education, and serve in the Church.
Lloyd served in the bishopric and for many years on the stake high council, along with many other callings including his favorite, ward financial clerk. At age 66, Lloyd sold the auto parts store and later the building and retired to a life of family, gardening, house repairs, and service in the Church. In 2004, Lloyd and Verla served a full-time mission in Nauvoo and Carthage, Illinois.
On May 13, 2009, Verla passed away rather suddenly, and Lloyd found himself alone once again. Those were hard times. After several years living alone in his home, Lloyd experienced what he later said were some of his most enjoyable years. Three different grandchildren, each with several great-grandchildren, lived with him in his home for one to two years each.
As a result, for four continuous years he rejoiced in having great-grandchildren wake him up early and ask him to make breakfast or visit him in his office and kick him out of his favorite chair. When he ran out of grandchildren and great-grandchildren who could live with him, Bryan and his wife, Dawnelle, kindly moved into his home to help take care of him for two years.
Tragedy struck again on November 20, 2022, when Lloyd’s oldest son Van died. Lloyd never really recovered from that tragedy, although he had faith in the goodness and mercy of God. We trust that that emotional wound has now been healed and that a most tender reunion has occurred.
A little over a year ago, Lloyd left the home he had lived in for over 50 years and moved to an assisted living facility in Lehi to be closer to children and grandchildren. He enjoyed meeting new people at the facility and having less space to worry about maintaining. He was able to attend more family gatherings and sporting events and dance recitals of his great-grandchildren. Over time, however, his health began to fail and a little over a month ago he was moved to a section of the assisted living facility providing higher care.
Like any of us would, Lloyd lamented losing his mobility and having to depend on others to help him with even the simplest of activities. He was ready to move to the other side of the veil. He did not fear death, he was just impatient about its arrival. Gratefully, the prayers of those who loved him most were answered, and he passed away on May 16, 2024, sooner than many of us had anticipated.
We rejoice in that timing and in the reality of what he knew and what we know that there is life after death because of Jesus Christ. Mistakes made and wounds suffered can be healed through the power of the Savior’s Atonement. Families can be together forever. And Lloyd now knows based on first-hand experience that forever, for all of us, is just around the corner.
What’s your fondest memory of Van?
What’s a lesson you learned from Van?
Share a story where Van's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Van you’ll never forget.
How did Van make you smile?
