Theodore G. 'Bud' Mahas

Theodore G. “Bud” Mahas passed away in Salt Lake City on August 13, 2021, at the age of 95. He was born in Ogden, Utah, on December 7, 1925, to Konstantinos “Gus” Mahas and Margaret Littleford. At the age of 18, he graduated early from Davis High School and volunteered for the United States Army Air Corps in WWII. He was stationed in Polebrook, England, in the 351st Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force and flew 35 missions over occupied Europe as a ball turret gunner in a B-17. In his later years, whenever Bud went out, he always wore an Eighth Air Force hat, and he loved the conversations that started when people thanked him for his service.
After the war, Bud attended the University of Utah with the help of the GI Bill and graduated in 1949. He remained a strong advocate of public education, the University of Utah, and Dixie State University throughout his life. While at college, he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity, and remained active in the alumni association, being inducted into the Order of Constantine in 2019.
Bud met the beautiful Barbara Sorensen and the two began a lengthy seven-year courtship culminating in marriage on May 12, 1954. Bud joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1968. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple, where their family was sealed for eternity. Bud and Barbara were blessed with four children: Steven (Marion Bennett), David (Elizabeth Isaacson), Sheri Swenson (Douglas), and Marilyn McConkie (Pace). When Barbara passed away after 60 years of marriage in 2014, Bud swore that he would make her wait seven years before he joined her. He was just a week shy of fulfilling that pledge. He and Barbara spent many happy years together traveling the world, dancing cheek-to-cheek, and greeting neighbors from their front porch on warm summer evenings.
Bud was a builder by profession. He started working construction and co-owned two companies before starting Bud Mahas Construction in 1982. Bud’s companies were involved in building more than 100 schools in Utah, as well as many other projects around the intermountain west and Hawaii.
Bud was active in numerous community boards and organizations in Salt Lake City and St. George, and he served terms as president of the Associated General Contractors of Utah, chairman of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, and chairman of the Health Science Council of the University of Utah. Bud was a true crimson “Utah Man;” he gave generously to the University and he and Barbara were constant fixtures at Utah sporting events in every season. He was clever with words and you always knew where he stood on any particular issue; he enjoyed writing countless letters to the editor and poems to celebrate family milestones. His passions were flying small airplanes and playing golf. His favorite church calling was that of ward greeter because it allowed him to meet many wonderful people and call them by name week after week.
Bud’s children, sixteen grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren will best remember him for his dedication to his family. He invested his success back into his children and grandchildren, supporting their educations and providing them with experiences to bond and grow closer, included a trip to his ancestral village of Krokillio, Greece. He and Barbara rarely missed a grandchild’s school play, recital, or football game (where the referees often became very familiar with Bud). In the last few years before Covid, he set aside Monday night as “Bud Dinner,” and all his children, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren were invited to a restaurant to enjoy dinner together on his dime. He kept his family close as cousins, siblings, and friends in a weekly ritual that he presided over with great pride and affection.
With deepest gratitude, we would like to thank Nau and Ryanna Masiva for their tender care of our father. They were a ray of sunshine to our whole family.
Come celebrate Bud’s life on Friday evening August 20 6-8pm at 2215 East Roosevelt Ave. (Casual, Ute attire suggested.) Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 21 noon at the Salt Lake Foothill 7th Ward, 2215 East Roosevelt with a viewing prior from 10:30-11:30.
Services will be live streamed on Russon Mortuary Facebook page and Bud’s obituary page at www.russonmortuary.com