Reed Herman Neilson

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Reed Herman Neilson, age 89, passed away on July 6, 2018 at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, surrounded by his family.  He was born in North Ogden, Utah on March 1, 1929, the eldest child of Thomas Herman Neilson and Alta Olive Brown.  He grew up on the family dairy farm in Taylor, Utah, and graduated from Weber High School.  He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eastern Canada. 

After his mission, he married Beverley May Tayler in the Logan Utah Temple on July 31, 1952.  Together they had four children, one son and three daughters – Sherry, David, Laurie and Lisa.  Sadly, Beverley passed away on November 25, 1982. 

Reed was lucky to find love again and married Leanne Younkin on February 15, 1986 in Santa Monica, California. Together they raised their three daughters- Andrea, Molli and Olivia. He cherished these years with Leanne and their daughters.

Reed was an excellent athlete, earning many awards and recognitions. His passion was baseball – if asked, he would say, “I was born with a baseball in my hand.”  He played baseball and football for Weber College and he was later recruited to play for a semi-pro baseball team.  He played basketball on an elite mission team in Canada.  He was an avid golfer, always with a score equal to his age or less.  He worked in the insurance industry and was often recognized for excellence in his profession. 

Reed truly loved his wife, Leanne, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He found great joy in attending his children’s activities, often coaching their teams, and always cheering them on in their achievements. He took pride that he never missed one of their games.  He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife, Leanne, and his seven children – Sherry (Jeff) of Ridgefield, WA; David (Sharon), currently serving a mission in Milan, Italy; Laurie (Bruce) of Kaysville; Lisa (Rod) of Logan; Andrea (Sarah) of Orange County, CA; Molli of Layton; and Olivia (Chase) of West Jordan; 18 grandchildren; and 41 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings Ann Halliday (Dee), Linda Garfield (Mike) and sister-in-law Marilyn Neilson and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Beverley, his parents, Herman and Alta, sister Cleah Fowler, brother Vern Neilson, and his daughter-in-law Lark Harris Neilson.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 11:00 am at Russon Mortuary, 1941 N. Main St. Farmington, Utah where visitation will be held Wednesday, July 11 from 6 – 8 pm, and on Thursday, July 12 from 9:30 – 10:30 am. Interment will be in the West Weber Cemetery.