Marion Ben West

Marion Ben West, 82, of Bountiful, peacefully returned to his beloved wife of 54 years and his Heavenly Father on Jan. 8, 2025, after suffering with kidney disease. He passed away surrounded by family at his daughter’s home in Eden, where he had been lovingly cared for in his final days. Ben was born on May 21, 1942, in a pickup truck in Pleasant Grove, before his parents, Vance Marion and Avis Fugal West, could make it to the hospital. He graduated from Pleasant Grove High and married his high school sweetheart, LeAnne Smith, in the Salt Lake Temple on Feb. 16, 1962.

Ben dedicated his career to the financial services industry, serving as a trusted credit union manager and accountant. True to his quiet and humble nature, he often preferred to stay in the background, letting his beloved LeAnne take the lead in conversations. While he wasn’t one to seek attention or speak unnecessarily, those who knew him discovered a man of depth, wisdom and warmth — a true treasure beneath the surface.

Ben had a passion for music and spent years as part of the Saltaires barbershop chorus, a hobby that brought him immense joy. He also sang in barbershop quartets, often delighting family and friends with the inevitable lame jokes that came with the barbershop tradition. A talented guitarist, Ben frequently serenaded his family, sometimes even in German, blending music and laughter into the fabric of their lives.

In his free time, Ben loved to play tennis – often with a very close group of friends from high school. He went on many “fishing trips” with those same friends, yet somehow never took a fishing pole. Of 65 of their reunions, he attended 64 of them. If there was a tennis match on TV, Ben was usually watching it. As an incentive to recover from triple bypass surgery, his children took him to the U.S. Open in New York City in 2019 to fulfill a bucket list dream.

Ben grew up in Pleasant Grove in a loving family and together with LeAnne raised a close family of four sons and one daughter in Bountiful. He has 16 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ, he served in numerous ward and stake callings, including the branch presidency at the Barton Creek assisted living. He spent many years managing the Associated Food Stores Credit Union and later Deseret First.

Ben is survived by brothers Vance Joel (Karen) West, Brigham City, and Jeff (Julie) West, Riverton; sisters Anne Fisher, Pleasant Grove; Judy (Armand) Whitehead, Pleasant Grove; Cheryl (Duane) Williams, Charleston; and Jayne (Keith) Morris, Pleasant Grove; children Brian (Camille) West, Centerville; Chris (Donna) West, Draper; Adam (Jackie) West, Port St. Lucie, Florida; Suzanne (Matt) Johnson, Eden; Bradley West, Bountiful. He had 16 adoring grandchildren: Danielle, Trevor, Jocelyn, Madison, Jake, Kylar, Collette, Weston, Kira, Logan, Tyler, Calicia, Peyton, Hayden, Savannah and Sydney; seven great-grandchildren; six step-grandchildren, many nieces, nephews and in-laws. Preceded in death by his wife, LeAnne, their parents, brother Sam West, and daughter-in-law Stephanie West.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, at the Bountiful East Stake Center, 650 E. 2150 South, where a viewing will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. before the funeral and on Wednesday evening, Jan. 15, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 N. Main, Bountiful. Interment at Bountiful City Cemetery.

Services will be streamed live on Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and this obituary page.