Kim Balls Leishman

Our great and loving husband, father and grandpa, Kim Balls Leishman passed away Saturday June 6, 2020, from complications of Covid-19. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margene; his 6 children and their spouses – Kamee (Mike) Burnett, Kandis (Bryan) Layton, KaLin (Greg) Hodges, Allan Kim (Christy) Leishman, Jared Karl (Shannon) Leishman and Karre Ivan (Melanie) Leishman; his 27 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren; his sister Sharen Munk and brother Nolan (LeAnn) Leishman. He was preceded in death by his parents, his two brothers Gary and Dennis, and one granddaughter MyKal Anne Burnett.

Kim was born on September 22, 1942, to Allan Bradshaw and Idonna Balls Leishman, in Wellsville, Utah, the youngest of five children. He attended South Cache High School in Hyrum, Utah, where he met and dated Margene Albretsen. They were married in the Logan Utah LDS Temple on March 15, 1963. She was the love of his life and he never wanted to be apart from her. He attended Utah State University, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech and Hearing Disorders and a Master’s Degree in Audiology—Speech Language Pathology. His thesis was “Auditory Synthesis in Speech-Handicapped School Children.”

Kim and Margene moved to Bountiful, Utah, in 1965 when he began working at Primary Children’s Hospital. He loved working with children and remained at Primary Children’s for 22 years, building the speech and hearing program to include several outreach clinics. In 1987, he became the Director of Speech Pathology and Audiology for Intermountain Health Care Therapy Management – a comprehensive rehabilitation agency serving the Western United States. In 1995, his vision for a state-of-the-art Hearing and Balance Center for the Intermountain West became a reality and is one of his great legacies. He was a great teacher, clinician, technician and mentor.

Kim was a faithful and devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loved to serve young people spending most of his life working with young men and serving as a Bishop of a singles ward – his favorite callings. Hiking, camping, cooking around a campfire, boating, or any activity where he could enjoy the young people he served made him happy. He had a deep testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and the restoration of His Gospel on the earth and he taught us well – sometimes he used words but mostly he showed us by the way he lived.

In 1990, Kim was part of a Humanitarian Hearing project for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bucharest, Romania, where he fit hearing aids on and helped orphaned children. In 2002, he and Margene served a proselyting mission to Indianapolis, Indiana, and developed many lasting friendships there. Upon returning home, he was asked to set up the first diagnostic and treatment hearing center in a hospital setting in Accra, Ghana, so he and Mom served together again. He returned to Ghana a second time overseeing the program he had helped begin. Then, he and Margene served one more mission in the summer of 2014, as Church Service Missionaries in Cody, Wyoming, at the Cody Mural Visitors Center, in Cody, Wyoming. Kim and Margene also enjoyed serving in the Bountiful Temple together and were currently serving there at the time of his passing.

Kim loved to serve others and rarely sat still at any function – he was happy to be busy cleaning or cooking, putting up tents, taking down chairs. He never wanted any praise or attention, he was just happy to be helping others. He loved people and made everyone he met feel good with his bright eyes and happy smile. Everyone was welcome and loved.

Kim loved boating, hunting and fishing and being in the outdoors – especially when he could spend time in the beautiful world with his family. Lake Powell with his family was a favorite spot during the summer and he loved the fall which brought hunting season. Heading to the Dakotas, walking fields and shooting so many pheasants he couldn’t count them with his sons and grandsons was something he looked forward to each year almost as much as the Deer Hunt. He wanted all the boys in the family to experience the Hunt, and Deer Camp on his family property aka “the Land” near Monte Cristo made him giddy. Fly fishing near the gorge with his older sons and grandsons or taking little grandchildren to a trout pond brought equally big smiles and his very last outing before his illness was spent on a river catching and releasing.

Mostly, Dad loved our Mom and his family. He loved to be surrounded by his kids and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He loved to laugh with us, swim, boat, waterski, hunt, fish, and play with us. He loved to welcome us, hug us and take care of us. He loved to organize, rebuild our small engines, fix our tools, refinish our furniture, clean up our yards and repair what needed repairing – sometimes our hearts. We will miss you but know we will see you soon!

A viewing for family and friends will be held Thursday, June 11, 2020, from 6-8 pm at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main Street, Bountiful, Utah. Funeral Services will be held Friday, June 12 for immediate family. He will be laid to rest in the Centerville, Utah, Cemetery.