M. Ephraim Hatch

M. Ephraim Hatch passed away peacefully in the early hours of December 15, 2014. He was born May 18, 1920, in Woods Cross, Utah to John Russell and Gwendolyn Harmon Hatch; the youngest of four brothers and one sister.
He married Verena Ursenbach in Carmel, California, and they were later sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They settled in Provo where they raised three sons and three daughters, all of whom obtained college educations and served LDS missions.
Ephraim worked as a draftsman for Boeing Aircraft for two years, then enlisted in the Navy, where he was trained and served as an electronics technician maintaining sonar and radar equipment. He was deployed on an aircraft carrier in the North Pacific at the end of the war and learned of the birth of his first son, Guy, when his ship stopped at Pearl Harbor on its way back to San Francisco.
His early career was varied, mostly involving carpentry, house design and building. He joined the BYU Campus Planning department and helped design many of the buildings on campuses in Provo, Rexburg, and Hawaii. His last project was the Jerusalem Center. A continuing foundation in building programming was established in his name at the Physical Plant Building.
His skill as a photographer, writer and publisher was expressed in several family history books and in assisting Verena with publishing her “Worship and Music” book.
Ephraim and Verena served two missions for the LDS Church: Nauvoo, Illinois and San Jose, California. They served as temple officiators in the Provo Temple for many years. Ephraim served as a Branch President at the State Hospital in Provo, and while there, helped design the chapel on that campus.
Verena passed away in 2012 and Ephraim is the last of his family generation. He is survived by their six children: Guy, Gary, Janice Hileman, Brian, Barbara Ploeger, and Joanne English. The current count is: 35 grandchildren and 84 great grandchildren. With special gratitude to Legacy House and Rocky Mtn. Hospice for their loving care.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, December 19, 2014 at the Bountiful Utah North Stake Center, 1540 N 400 E., where a visitation will be held from 9:45-10:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment will be at the Bountiful Cemetery.