Lyman Dale Watkins Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

L. Dale Watkins passed away peacefully in his home in Taylorsville on September 2, 2014, with loved ones near. He was born in Midway, Utah, the first baby of the year, January 1, 1939 in the home of his grandparents. His parents, Lyman (deceased) and Nelda Watkins, reared their family in Heber City, Utah. He is the oldest of 7 children. His sibling are Karen Kinder of Heber City, Utah, Tom (Liz) Watkins of Mountain View, Wyoming, Floyd (Cari Lou) of Mountain View, Wyoming, Marcyne, (Lamar) deceased, Blaine (Shari) of Center Creek, Utah, and Shelley Johnson (Marland) of Cedar City, Utah. He excelled in many sports, especially basketball and football which he played throughout his school years. He served a mission for the LDS church in the East Central States from 1959-1961. He loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed the deer hunt with his family each year. He married Connie Vogel on September 6, 1963, in the Salt Lake Temple and they have been blessed with 6 incredible children. Their children have brought additional incredible spouses to the family. They all include: Katrina (Jeff) Georgio, Kory (Angie), Weston (Becky), Quinn (Sarah), Steve (Becca), and Amanda (Paul) Johnson. They have shared their talents and increased the quality of the family even more. Nineteen grandchildren have also joined the family. They are Alison, Erica, Sam, Elizabeth, Olivia, Kathryn, Emma, Rachel, Amy, Ty, Nathan, Melanie, Henry, Ben, Luke, Gregory, Josh, Spencer, and Adam. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Business Management; however, his real love was design engineering. Dale’s life was filled with a multitude of designing for many companies including, mobile homes, pioneering lasers, space shuttle work, giant winding machines, underwater cameras, medical equipment, and lightning protection for the Nauvoo Temple. His roadway design can be seen on the 70th South Connector between 500 West and 1300 West. The family calls this strip of road the “Dale Highway”. In the community there was a need for a playground at the Plymouth Elementary School where his children attended so he designed and built equipment from used tires, phone poles and railroad ties with help from many other parents. He loved being with horses from the time he was little and he came to know how they thought and what made them “tick”. Over the years he and his father worked and perfected a Cloverleaf Bitless Bridle that would make training horses quicker without damaging the horse. He received 2 patents on this special bridle. He also wrote, printed and bound his horse training book called “The Secrets that Tame the Wild Ones”. He also copyrighted some of his brands for his horses. He built and designed his own corrals and training system equipment from Schedule 40 pipe. In order to build it he used an Elm tree to hold his hoist so he could move the fence sections as needed on his welding jig which he also designed and built. Many years were spent thinking and improving on his design for a model of a super solar concentrator which he was never quite able to market. He discovered when he sat at the typewriter and put his fingers on the keys, without a previous thought of what he would write, a story would pour from his mind onto the paper. He had this gift for all his adult life. He also loved music and with a guitar composed a few songs including one called “Rest Your Head” which has been performed at many family funerals. Duct tape, baling twine and baling wire were his favorite choice of materials for his creations. If you wanted to know where he was, you could always find him at his welding jig making something he had invented that very day to solve some issue he had with something he was using. He left his mark on the world and his family. He is survived by his wife, Connie, his mother, 6 children, their spouses, and 19 grandchildren. All services will be held at the Taylorsville Stake Center 4845 S Woodhaven Dr (1365 W). Viewings: September 4th, 6-8pm and September 5th 10am-10:45am. Funeral Service will follow at 11:00am. Services provided by Serenity Funeral Home. www.serenityfhs.com

Lyman Dale Watkins

January 1, 1939 - September 2, 2014