Rudell Bennett Willey

Rudell Bennett (Bud) Willey was born January 17, 1932 and passed away on October 10, 2021.  His parents were Rudell T. and Lillian Anderson Willey.  He attended Weber High School, graduating in 1950.  On November 1, 1950, he married his high school sweetheart and honey, Barbara Jean Hadley.

Rudell told us he was going to live to be 100 years old, but his body just wore out.  He had been on hospice care for approximately two years.  He received great care and was loved by Cassie and Becky at Intermountain Hospice, and all the staff at Beehive Homes of Syracuse.

Rudell was raised on a small farm in West Ogden, where his family raised sugar beets, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions.  On the farm, Rudell learned the value of hard work.  He always said that these were the happiest days of his life!

Rudell and Barbara loved to travel to nearby locations by car, but they really loved traveling to a lot of destinations in their motorhome, including traveling to Alaska many times.  They enjoyed traveling long distances in their private airplane.  Rudell flew north of the Arctic Circle on four different occasions. He traveled to Mexico for many years with Barbara and other friends, and flew his plane into the jungle at Tikal, Guatemala to visit the ruins there. His favorite story to tell was flying from Cozumel, Mexico to Montego Bay, Jamaica, over 700 miles over water.  He also visited other Caribbean islands.  Rudell loved every place he visited, and he loved the people he met.  What a thrill for a farm boy to visit these areas!

Rudell worked for Southern Pacific Railroad as a conductor for 35 years.  He was also a Master Electrician, a Real Estate Broker, and a stock market investor.  He also served an LDS Mission for 9 years, helping on church ranches to round up cattle and do other jobs on the ranches in the United States.

Rudell always felt like he had a full and wonderful life experience!

Rudell was preceded in death by his beautiful wife, Barbara, and by his older sister, Lois Willey (Penrod), and his younger brother, Gary J. Willey.  He is survived by his three children:  R. Scott Willey (Cherie); Linda Smith (Clark), Lesa Cox (Andy), 12 Grandchildren, and 32 Great-Grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Friday, October 22, 2021, at 11:00a.m. at the Kaysville 17^th Ward building, 875 E. 200 N., Kaysville.  A viewing will be held prior to the services at 9:45 – 10:45 a.m.

The funeral service will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page and on this obituary page at the bottom when services begin.

Condolences may be left in the ‘Guestbook’ tab on this obituary page.