Lester O. Pehrson

Lester O. Pehrson
1922 – 2017
Lester Oliver Pehrson passed away November 23, 2017 in Bountiful, Utah.  He was born September 28, 1922 in Provo, Utah the eldest child of Oliver John and Maren (Johansen) Pehrson.  His younger siblings were Faye Venice, June Maren, and Joseph James Pehrson.  The family lived in Provo until  the death of his mother when he was twelve; thereafter, his father remarried Josie Brown Wright and they moved to Pleasant Grove, but returned to Provo his senior year of high school.
He started work at the Provo Book Bindery which subsequently became Hiller Industries in Salt Lake City.  In December 1942 he was drafted into the Army Air Force during World War II and served as an engineer and instructor for B-24 bombers.  While home on furlough he was introduced by his sister to his soul-mate Marjorie Ann Petty and they started dating and were subsequently married November 27, 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple.  They initially lived in Provo where Les attended two years at BYU majoring in accounting and their first son Brent was born.  They then moved to Rose Park in 1950 when employment at Hiller's relocated them.  Daughters Leslie and Carol were born after the move to Salt Lake.
Les dedicated his 43 year working career to Hiller Industries where he was a foreman and manager.  In 1965 they built a home in North Salt Lake which became their final residence.  Here the family grew to maturity and as Les approached his last years of employment, he re-enrolled at BYU and completed his bachelor's degree one year prior to retirement.  Les was very active in church callings serving as scoutmaster, high councilor twice, first bishop of the Orchard 5th Ward and Patriarch of the Orchard Stake.  He and Marj served two missions:  England Manchester 1988-90 and Nigeria Enugu 1993-94.  They served as ordinance workers in the Bountiful Temple following its dedication in 1995 for eight years.  Les and Marj were actively involved in Family Indexing for over 15 years.
Les was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years Marjorie, daughter-in-law Rhea Pehrson, parents, sister Faye (Bill) Smith, and brother Joseph (Bobbie) Pehrson.  He is survived by his sister June (Sid) Manning, son Brent, daughters Leslie (Randy) Reese and Carol (Douglas) Nielsen, ten grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.  at the Orchard 5th Ward, 3599 South Orchard Drive, Bountiful.  A viewing will be held prior to the service from 11:30 a.m. -12:45 p.m.  Funeral arrangements were handled by Russon Mortuary who are gratefully acknowledged.  Interment:  Bountiful City Cemetery.
The family wishes to express appreciation to the staff at Heritage Place and Envision Hospice for their attentive, loving care and expertise.