09/12/1944 – 08/03/2023
David LeRoy Beardall age 78, passed away peacefully at his home in Benjamin on Thursday August 3rd. He was born September 12th, 1944 to Scott and Merlene Beardall in Payson, Utah.
David grew up in Springville, Utah and attended Springville High School where he played on the basketball and football teams and also competed in track and field, running the 440 and 100 yard dashes. He graduated from Springville High School in 1962.
David went on to play on the basketball team at Utah Technical Institute for one season. While there he obtained a degree in carpentry and later worked for a carpenter in Provo before beginning his career at Utah Power and Light in 1964, he worked there for 45 years, retiring in 2006. David surveyed power lines in all different parts of Utah, Idaho and Colorado. He took great pride in knowing that he was providing a great life for his family while also being able to enjoy the outdoors and see new places. He continued playing church basketball throughout his married life and would often take his daughters to be his cheerleaders.
He met and married Susanne Elliott in June of 1965. He had 3 beautiful daughters with Susanne; they later divorced in 1980. He married Kady Carter in 1985, they were later divorced in 1993. He then married Susan Whitely in 1997 and they later divorced in early 2010. He met Lavina Wiggington in late 2010 and they married in 2018.
Photography was one of the loves of David’s life. He got his first camera at the age of 10 and enjoyed taking pictures of his family on all of their adventures. He continued his love of documenting memories throughout his life and always had a camera in hand to snap a photo or ten.
He also loved bowling and he played on many leagues throughout the years with a high score of 190! He continued to bowl until 2013 when he was no longer able to compete at the level he wanted. He also loved dancing, playing horseshoes, riding horses, camping, fishing, and the many Lagoon trips with family. Above all he loved spending time with those that he loved the most, his family.
David had several dogs and horses that he loved throughout his life. He was an avid hunter and fisherman from an early age and enjoyed several hunting trips both stateside and internationally. Hunting quickly became a passion in his life that he loved to share with his friends and family. His passion for the outdoors grew as he traveled to new places, exploring the rugged and beautiful terrain as well as photographing his amazing adventures.
As his family expanded with his three beautiful girls, his passion for hunting never wavered. He would be found dragging them up the mountain on horseback in the crisp early fall mornings. David was an accomplished and well-known hunter. He shined as an example of selflessness and accountability, teaching his family great values and hard work. He always gave back to the outdoor community through volunteering for the Wild Sheep Foundation as well as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. One of his greatest accomplishments was the fulfillment of his Grand Slam.
His dream of a Grand Slam started more than 70 years ago when he first read Jack O’Connor’s stories in ‘Outdoor Life Magazine’. He doubted he would ever come to realize this dream because he was a working-class family man and family always came first. He finally realized that his dream was attainable after his friend, Collin Allen, drew a desert sheep tag. He thought ‘If he could do it, I could too’. He started applying in Utah for a desert sheep tag in 1974 and continued applying year after year with no luck. He didn’t let that deter him from his dream. With the support of his family and a lot of overtime at work.
In 1985 he was finally able to save up enough money to go to Alaska where he was successful in obtaining his Dall Sheep. This was the first of his four sheep needed for his Grand Slam dream. After more unsuccessful years of applying in Utah for a Desert Sheep Tag, David started applying in Colorado for a Big Horn Sheep Tag. He successfully drew in 1992 in the Snowmass Wilderness area of Colorado. After only two days of hunting, he got his Big Horn Sheep and now was halfway to his goal of a Grand Slam. After 27 years of applying for a Desert Sheep tag in Utah, he finally drew out. David hunted hard for 16 days and looked over some beautiful rams before he successfully took his Desert Ram.
He was now on the last leg of his grand slam dream. In 2001 he had a chance to hunt stone sheep in the last place Jack O’Connor hunted for stone sheep, Colt Lake in British Columbia. Unfortunately after hunting diligently for 15 long days he never even got close to a legal ram on this trip. He had planned another trip later that year to go back and hunt stone sheep at Colt Lake again, but that plan was ruined when they grounded all the airlines after the bombing of the world trade towers the day he was to fly back on Sept 11th. It was a huge disappointment because he wanted to get his stone sheep where Jack O’Connor did. The man who started this dream in the first place. In 2003 David decided he was going to take one more shot at fulfilling his grand slam dream. He Re-mortgaged the house and booked a stone sheep hunt with Stone Mountain Safaris in Toad River, British Columbia.
After getting off the plane and into the hunting lodge he received news that this hunting season had not been a good one and all the hunters so far had been unsuccessful in their sheep hunts. This however did not stop David from giving this hunt his all since it was most likely going to be his last chance at his dream. After days of hunting, they finally found a group of rams to go after. They came up with a game plan and the next morning they executed it perfectly even when the conditions weren’t ideal and David finally took the shot that secured his dream of a grand slam.
David’s love for the outdoors and hunting will forever live on through his loving family and friends. He has left behind a strong legacy.
David is survived by his wife Lavina Beardall, daughters Tracy (John) Williams of Mapleton, Cory Webster of American Fork, and Debbie Sandberg of Saratoga Springs. Grandchildren Riley (Elle) Williams of Omaha, Nebraska, Tyler (Andrea) Bixler of Springville, Trevor (Tess) Williams of Idaho Falls Idaho, Brandon (Kiersten) Bixler of American Fork, Dalton (Makele) Sandberg of Saratoga Springs, Sarah (Brock) Williams of Reno Nevada, and Brooke Hardin of Saratoga Springs. He had 4 step grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, a sister Carolyn Buck and brother Kent (Tammy) Beardall. He was preceded in death by twin daughters, his parents and one grandson.
In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation or the Wild Sheep Foundation.
To leave condolences, visit www.legacyfunerals.com.
