Jon Nelvice Eby

Jon Nelvice Eby passed away July 5, 2017. Jon was born to Anoch and Melvina Edith Eby on November 16, 1935.They were hard workers, building a beautiful home in Lomeda California. Many happy memories were made there and the value of work and family were deeply instilled. Jon knew the value of hard work and more importantly, he knew that rewards come after the work. One of his greatest rewards came after a 32 month mission to Argentina. He and his sweetheart, Orva Diane Checketts Eby, were married in the Logan Temple on November 12, 1959.  Together they raised seven children and nurtured many others through their participation in the Foster Parents and Indian Placement Program.

Jon and Diane spent all of their married life in service to the Lord, each other, and their children. In the early years of their marriage Jon entered the service as a Second Lieutenant in 1960, after graduating from Utah State University.  He served as a pilot in the Army Transportation Core.  He loved the time he spent in “his” planes, even the cross country solo trip he made that made his young bride unhappy.  In 1963, he left the service as a First Lieutenant, but his love of the air never left him.

Through all of the moves and changes in life Jon and Diane lived one of their favorite sayings, “No Empty Chairs”.  They opened their home to everyone who crossed their path making their home a lively place to be. Home was a place where love and lessons abounded, taught by both parents. The boys learned very early on how to work in the yard, and Jon loved his yard and garden. The three oldest children, Michael, Scott and Jana, had a wondrous playground in the Long Beach City bomb shelters, while Jon was an Emergency Planner for Long Beach in the 1970’s.

The four younger children, Jennifer, Christopher, Eric and Laura, were mainly raised in Bountiful, Utah, where their adventures continued. Many happy hours were spent in the “gully” and driving hills in Bountiful.  Every member of the family tell stress inducing tales of trying to get home in the winter time. Many times cars were left at the bottom of the hill and the family hiked up the hill home to avoid desperate prayers of sliding back down in the car. During these years Jon returned to school to earn his teaching certificate from Weber State to add to the Masters Degree he earned from USC.

Jon spent over 15 years as a Science and Spanish teacher at North Layton Junior High, but the greatest times of his teaching career came over the past few years as a substitute teacher. He was especially fond of the humble children in the Salt Lake City School District who he delighted with tales of adventure in their own language. The kids were always taken with him and the love he showed them.

After leaving Bountiful they moved to Woods Cross where they, as well as their younger children, found life-long friendships. It has been a blessing to see those friends as they have come to wish well and share stories of times past. They have truly blessed his last days. After Woods Cross, they moved to Kaysville and then to South Weber, before deciding to serve a mission in Saint George and join the snow-bird crowd. They loved missionary service so much that only three months after coming home they left for a second mission in Chile. They loved the people and their family grew stronger through their example.

Not long after they recovered from the physical stress of their mission in Chile, they packed their bags and headed off for a third full time mission, this time to Madrid, Spain. They loved serving in the temple there and in Bountiful, but Jon was beyond thrilled to come home and get a proper shower, one without bungee cords.

Jon was a talented musician who loved playing for the meetings in the Bountiful Temple. Hundreds of lives have been blessed by the melodies that flow from his fingers. We will all miss the music of Dad at the piano at Christmas time. He has passed that love to many of his children and music fills many homes because he was willing to share his gift.

He is survived by his wife Diane and seven children. Michael (Annetta) Eby, Scott (Emily) Eby, Jana (Tim) Richards, Jennifer (Matthew) Summers, Christopher (Sarah) Eby, Eric (Christina) Eby, Laura (Mark) Wheeler. They have 27 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

Jon loved his family and would do anything to support and attend to them.  This was never more evident as he took on teaching, after retirement, so that Jon and Diane could travel the world and see the different paintbrushes God used around this beautiful land.

Funeral Services will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 8, 2017 at the LDS Chapel, 205 Angel Street, Kaysville, Utah. A visitation for family and friends will be from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, July 7 at Russon Mortuary, 1941 N. Main St., Farmington, Utah and from 9:45-10:45 a.m. on Saturday at the church prior to services. Interment-Logan City Cemetery.