Veldon Waters' Obituary
Veldon Waters Obituary
Veldon could recall every last detail from his 77 years, so it is fitting that he departed this life, March 12, 2022, holding Shirley’s hand, as she read memories of him written by their children and grandchildren. Veldon had endured painful and debilitating kidney damage since 2020, without complaint and few demands. Of those few, he wanted his funeral service to be a private family event. While his services may be closed, we would like to honor his memory by sharing some of ours with you.
Veldon Waters was born July 17, 1944, to Forrest Waters and Eda Lewis. He was the second of six children. He is survived by his loving wife Shirley, and children Greg (Denise), Mikal-Anne, and Scott (Angela), and grandchildren Forrest, Eliza, Colt, Noah, Nina and Will.
Veldon is also survived by brothers Larry, Lyle (Kelly), sister Kathy (Ed) Stuart, as well as his in-laws, Barbara Hunt, Wendy Peterson, Lyle (Denise) Hunt, Ron (Jean) Hunt, and Leonard (Georgia) Christensen. Veldon was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Brent (Ann) and Evon, parent-in-laws Ardell and Phyllis Hunt, and sister-in-law Colleen Christensen.
Veldon grew up in Ogden, Utah, in a family that prized hard work and military service. Much of Veldon’s character was inherited from his father, Forrest. When Forrest passed away, he took a large part of Veldon with him. Prior to that, Veldon served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northeast British Mission, and spent six years in the Army Reserves.
While attending Weber State University, Veldon couldn’t make it to his Trigonometry class for a couple of weeks and sent his little brother. In addition to taking notes for Veldon, Evon found him a study partner named Shirley Hunt. Things added up well. They dated through Algebra and got engaged in Calculus. Veldon and Shirley married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 27, 1969.
Veldon had proved his patience during their courtship. On a fishing trip, he smiled kindly as he untangled and re-baited her line, time after time. He took pains to make sure Shirley was safe, chaining the tires on a trip over Donnor’s Pass. Once, while at Shirley’s house, another suitor stopped by. Veldon passed the hours upstairs quilting with Shirley’s mother while Shirley visited with the other young man.
That same patience would be used many times over the years, in combination with his ‘see a need, fill a need’ attitude. Veldon was the one you would call when you were stuck up the canyon late at night with a broken axle. He once encountered a tractor that had fallen off a trailer in an intersection and while others drove around annoyed, he jumped out, started it up and drove it out of the way. When a lady had a spill at the fair, he recruited the kids as they quickly jumped to her aid. When Scott wanted to learn baseball, Veldon spent hours playing catch and at the batting cages with him. But those same qualities were delightedly taken advantage of by grandkids. For example, Nina discovered that as many times as she shot her toy airplane onto the roof, Grandpa would find ingenious ways to get it down. “Grandpa! We got a problem!” would spark his creative problem solving skills.
Veldon’s love of problem solving and all things mechanical were the drivers behind his career. He pursued a civil engineering degree at the University of Utah. He did commercial construction with his father and built distinctive retaining walls using massive rocks that weighed up to 30 tons. He earned his general contractors license and built homes on his own. He was the sole proprietor of an excavation company, insulation company, and trucking company. He worked on pipelines, TRAX, and the Huntsville Dam reinforcement project. He took a small break in the middle of his construction career to pursue another career working at Highway Equipment where he was the right-hand-man of the owner. Clients would comment that no other salesmen knew specs of equipment and semis as well as Veldon did. His resourcefulness led to him being awarded a patent which he filed on a device that could secure semi loads better than anything out there. He was constantly fixing (and accruing) engines.
Together with Shirley, they built a home in Shadow Valley, nail by nail. It was a unique home that was ahead of its time. He designed it to use pre-stressed concrete floor panels not just for the garage floor like is done today, but rather for the entire length of the rambler house, including the garage floor. This created a huge basement without any load bearing walls interrupting the space, and a main floor that would never have squeaky floor boards. Soon after moving in, however, the large six acre property on Harrison Boulevard that Veldon had admired and wished to own since his youth came up for sale. Their beautiful new home was sold and the family moved into the old farm house on the property where the kids could have a country life in the city. But even the country life was made easier by Veldon's ingenuity. When the kids got tired of walking their 4H lambs around the neighborhood, Veldon walked the sheep on a treadmill; producing the muscliest lambs at the fair. While using the 1942 International truck to plow all the snow on their property, the cab would fill with exhaust. Veldon solved that problem by wearing a respirator gas mask, putting the respirator hose out the window into the fresh air. Solutions don’t have to be complicated to be smart!
A defining attribute in Veldon was that of protector. This was exemplified in his constant admonitions to “Brush your teeth!” and in his collection of Pontiac Bonnevilles, which he deemed to be safe and reliable enough to transport his loved ones. It was important to him that Shirley drive the kids around in a car big as a boat. He always emphasized the importance of health and safety, and took every opportunity to teach skills: auto mechanics, negotiation, skiing, fishing, biking, guns, and more. If Veldon had to learn something the hard way, he learned it the first time. Then he shared his wisdom with insistence so the kids didn’t have to learn it the hard way. In his youth, Veldon had to chisel at frozen earth to get to frozen pipes. To this day, his kids will keep the faucet slightly open during a cold spell to prevent frozen pipes. When talking about road safety, Veldon had a mantra we should all remember, “You may be in the right, but you’d be dead right.”
Though Veldon was famous for his work ethic, he was a kid at heart. As newlyweds, his spontaneity almost got him in trouble during a joy-ride on a steep and rocky road, when he realized Shirley’s new china set was in a box bouncing around between the seats. He gifted two-year-old Scott an entire dump truck load of sand to play in. It wasn’t Christmas without the kids begging him for a turn to play with their own toys. He was quick to offer adventure on the 4-wheelers, pulling sleighs behind. He hid presents in the basement and had the grandkids search for them with flashlights.
Veldon may have had thick skin, but he also had a tender heart. When Greg was born, fathers weren’t allowed much in the hospital and babies were kept in the nursery. But Veldon spent hours gazing at Greg through the glass. When Shirley was at work, it broke Veldon’s heart to think of little Greg at home with the sitter, so he would come home for lunch to see him. One day, to not make Greg sad with his departure, Veldon snuck out the bedroom window. By chance, two police officers were on the street and threw him against the car, thinking they caught him redhanded. It took some explaining and the babysitter vouching for him, but Veldon was set free; as his only crime was caring for his boy. Veldon sometimes spared his children the trial of delivering the huge Thanksgiving and Christmas newspapers by delivering them on those cold holiday mornings at 4:30am alone. Veldon and Mikal-Anne shared a soft spot for animals. They took in everything from horses to raccoons to turtles and more. For weeks after it bit him, Veldon cared for a stray cat as if it were his own child. His tenderness was most obvious when it came to grandkids. He would often stand in the kitchen gazing at the annual calendar full of their pictures, smiling at their little faces. When grandkids went home from a visit, he spent days reminiscing on each little thing they said or did.
We have countless more memories, sweet and sour, that we will hold onto now that we can’t make any more together. But at the end of the day, we’re grateful for the time we had.
Additionally, we want to express our thanks to Cindy, and Ryan Westbroeke who helped Veldon when his health issues were first discovered. Thanks to Summit Home Health for two years of wonderful service, and thanks to A Plus Hospice, who were angels to the end.
What’s your fondest memory of Veldon?
What’s a lesson you learned from Veldon?
Share a story where Veldon's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Veldon you’ll never forget.
How did Veldon make you smile?