E. Jay Hartvigsen

Biography

Elmer Jay Hartvigsen, of Downey, Idaho, passed away on August 11, 2014 after courageously battling the effects of a stroke last April.

He was born on May 9, 1929 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Elmer and Marie Hartvigsen. He grew up in Downey where he worked on his Grandfather’s farm and went to school, but he graduated from Davis High School after his family moved back to Utah. He served an LDS Mission in his ancestral home of Norway from 1949 to 1952, then served his country during the Korean Conflict as a member of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion. He earned a degree in Business Management from the University of Utah.

He worked for Standard Oil of California and the U.S. Dept. of Labor. After retiring from federal service, he participated in various real estate, land development, and investment activities. However, his heart and heritage ultimately took him back to farming after he purchased land adjacent to the family homestead south of Downey.

He married Janice Rae Beesley in 1956 and raised a family of six children, two Indian Placement Program students, and a foster son, in Bountiful, Utah. He loved traveling with Janice, who was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and with her family, the Beesleys, whom he grew to love in a manner rarely seen. After Janice died of cancer in 1983, he was married to Ellen Hatch for 8 years. Jay moved to the “Farm” near Downey. In 1998, he married Elizabeth Condie and moved “into Town.” He cherished each member of his ever growing family and loved being “Grandpa.”

Jay is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, all 6 of his children – Joseph (Sandi), David (Teleen), Julie Webb (Boyd), Gregory (Jill), Louise Harvey (widowed), and Carol Ferguson (Shawn), his 5 step children – Blair (René©e), Brent (Lisa), Christine Martone (Douglas), Barbra Yardley (Robert), and Diane Pratt (Jay), 47 grandchildren, and 58 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by 4 brothers – Don, Ned, Dale, and John, and 1 sister, Shirley. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Marie, his first wife, Janice, his brother, Paul, and sister, Anna Jean, and 1 grandson, Steven Webb.

A viewing will be held at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 1941 N. Main St. in Farmington, Utah, just west of Highway 89, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday August 14, 2014, and at the LDS Chapel at 500 E. Center St. in Downey, Idaho, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday August 15, 2014. Funeral services will follow the second viewing, at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be in the Bountiful, Utah City Cemetery.

Funeral Service

Friday August 15, 2014, 11:00 a.m. at Downey Chapel
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Viewing

Thursday August 14, 2014, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Russon Brothers Farmington/Kaysville Mortuary
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Viewing

Friday August 15, 2014, 9:00 – 10:30 at Downey Chapel
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