November 21, 1943 – June 17, 2022 (age 79)
Gary Leon Godfrey, 78, Clarkston, returned to his Heavenly Father June 17, 2022, with his family by his side. He was born Nov. 21, 1943, to Elwin Leon and Nedra Johnson Godfrey in Logan, Utah. They raised him and his siblings in Clarkston. His mother died when he was 16 years old, and his grandparents, Vivian and Elwin Godfrey, stepped in to help Gary fill his broken heart. It was his Grandma he called for at the end.
Gary was a hard worker from the time he was five-years-old, doing chores and tromping loose hay tossed onto a wagon. When his father got a baler, he would ride a slip and stack the bales of hay on it until there were enough to push off, then start over. He hauled hay, dug ditches, and worked a variety of jobs as a youth until he learned to weld at California Steel and Tubing in Brigham City, Utah. That skill took him through the rest of his career, at Hesston’s Farm Implement and eventually to Thiokol, from which he retired in 2001 after working there for 25 years. He enjoyed welding horseshoe art, porch swings for his granddaughters, a wood stove and a smoker large enough to invite the neighborhood over for a pig roast. Speaking of pigs, as a young boy he would walk his boar pig all over town breeding other people’s pigs for the pick of the litter.
When Gary was 18, he fell in love with Grace Woodmancy. The couple eloped and were married on August 28, 1962. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Logan, Utah Temple on January 26, 1980. They are the parents of Gary Lee (Donna) Godfrey of Clarkston, Utah, Paula Ann (Vern) Purser of Preston, Idaho, and Patty (Chris) Tueller of Amalga, Utah, who gave them 12 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. His first great-great grandson is on the way. He and Grace also helped Paula raise their granddaughter, Ashley during the early years of her life. He loved all his grandchildren very much.
As a member of the American Quarter Horse Association, he also enjoyed showing horses, and brought home several trophies with his daughter Patti until she got married. Gary loved his family and enjoyed taking them camping where they could listen to a stream and fish, especially to Blackfoot Reservoir, Yellowstone and Flaming Gorge. He was legendary for falling asleep once he got the kids out on the middle of the lake. He always had a good fish story and was fun to tease, because he’d tease you right back. The grandkids all remember him trying to get their toes with his cane. A few of them enjoy his favorite drinks, too: milk over ice, and ice cold Mountain Dew.
After retirement, Gary and Grace spent several years traveling to Quartzite, Arizona during the winter months and spending the summers as camp hosts at Flaming Gorge, Utah. He was quick to make friends everywhere he went. If you wanted to get out of the store in a timely manner, you didn’t take Grandpa in with you.
He was always interested in how others were doing and could often be heard asking, “What can I do to help?” Following Grace’s plentiful garden harvest, he enjoyed loading up the basket on his four-wheeler, and later his scooter, with his dog Andy and a variety of vegetables to share with a lifetime of friends in Clarkston.
Gary is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, and sisters LuAnn (Herb) Mays of North Logan, Utah and Tina (Kyle) Godfrey of Clarkston, Utah and a brother, Lee (Susan) Godfrey, of Clarkston, Utah.
He was preceded in death by both his parents and grandparents.
Viewings will be held Wednesday, June 22, 2022 from 6:00 PM till 8:00 PM and Thursday, June 23, 2022 from 10:30 AM till 11:30 AM.
The funeral will begin at 12:00 Noon. All services will be held in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints building in Clarkston, Utah located at 25 E. 100 S. with Bishop John Ravsten conducting.
Interment will be at the Clarkston Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the direction of Cache Valley Mortuary.
Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at Cache Valley Mortuary.