Don C. Earl

SMITHFIELD, UTAH - Don Charles Earl passed away peacefully on May 26, 2009, at the Logan Regional Hospital, surrounded by his wife and five children. He was born on April 6, 1926 in Logan, Utah to Ernest G. and Vernetta Erickson Earl. He was the second of three children and spent his childhood in Logan.
After graduation from Logan High School, World War II called. Don enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to the USS Napa in the Pacific. He was trained to drive landing boats and drove a boat that landed some of the first Marines on the Island of Iwo Jima.
After the war, Don returned to Logan and attended USU. His father convinced him to open a Texaco service station at the corner of 5th North and Main in Logan. He operated under Earls Service Store from 1948 to 1970. During this period, his business won many Texaco regional awards for its service and cleanliness.
In 1970, he purchased his father’s Texaco distributorship and moved 5 blocks north to the corner of 10th North and Main in Logan. In 1989, Don sold his distributorship to Jardine Petroleum and worked for them for the next 10 years, after which he retired.
He spent a total of 51 years working in the petroleum business. During these 51 years, he always thought that he was very lucky to associate with many great employees, co-workers, friends and customers. He was very fond of them and talked about them often.
In 1948, he met Gloria Thurston of Hyde Park. She was a waitress at a local restaurant and he tipped her 50 cents on a 5-cent drink, which got her attention. They began to date and were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on October 14, 1949. Together they lived in the River Heights area for the next 53 years. Don was active in the LDS Church and served in many callings. Don was elected and served on the River Heights city council for several years, was an active member of the River Heights Lions Club, the Cache Chamber of Commerce and the Logan Rotary Club.
Together, Don and Gloria were blessed with four daughters and one son, 20 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren, with several more on the way.
After Don became a grandfather, he became affectionately known as “Grumpy” to his grandchildren and friends and was known by that nickname from then on. He had lots of aches and pains the last dozen or so years of his life but we found that the best medicine for him was visits from the grandkids and great grandkids. The pain always disappeared when they were present.
Grumpy was a tremendous man that taught us about love, patience, kindness, honesty and hard work. We will miss him dearly.
He is survived by his wife, Gloria of Smithfield; his children, Shari (Leon) Badger of Logan; Craig (Lorraine) Earl of North Logan; Joni (Steven) Miller of Hyrum; Cyndi (Danny) Wiser of Nibley; Lori (Robert) Andres of Farmington; his 20 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister-in-law, JoAn (Gerry-deceased) of Fort Worth, TX; a brother-in-law, Terry Thurston of North Logan; a sister-in-law, Shirlene (Roland) Davies of Lake Tahoe, CA; and an aunt, Nadine (Lynn) Bracken of Logan.
A special thanks to Dr. Steve Salisbury and Louise Tobey PA for their special care of Grumpy for the last few years of his life. Their kindness and dedication to their professions is certainly appreciated.
Funeral services will be held at 12 noon on Monday, June 1, 2009, at the Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E. Center Street, Logan. A viewing will be held Sunday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Monday morning from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. prior to services. Interment will be in the Logan City Cemetery. Condolences and thoughts may be expressed to the family online at www.allenmortuaries.net .
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you contribute to the Utah Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Washington Building, 151 East 5600 South, Suite 210, Murray, UT 84107 or ALS (Lou Gehrigs) Disease Research at MDA/ALS, 4578 S. Highland Drive, #300, Salt Lake City, UT 84117.