Gary Kay Arbon Obituary March 5, 2026 - Didericksen Memorial

Gary Kay Arbon of Salt Lake City, Utah, passed away peacefully on March 5, 2026, at the age of 86.He was born on July 11, 1939, in Grantsville, Utah, to Dale Arbon and Selma Madsen. Gary married Lynn Jefferies on June 7, 1963, in the Salt Lake Temple.Gary was student body president at Grantsville High School, where he played several sports. He graduated from Brigham Young University, majoring in agronomy and botany. He was a proud veteran of the Army Reserve and was a true patriot.Gary began his career as a manager at U.S. Steel Farm Service Center in Rexburg, Idaho, followed by 31 years at Intermountain Farmers Association, where he served as vice president for 27 years.Gary served on advisory boards for three national agricultural cooperatives. He was an agricultural representative on the Governor's Chemical Board and served as president of the Utah Seed Growers. He was also awarded a National Honorary American FFA Degree (Future Farmers of America) and was a founding member of the Utah FFA Foundation. He was currently serving on the Friends of Wheeler Farm Board.He owned and operated the Bowery Haven Resort in the Fishlake National Forest for nine years.Gary had a moral compass that coincided well with his faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He held many callings, but scouting was his favorite. Gary and Lynn also served a Church agricultural mission.Some of Gary's interests included collecting coins, lapidary, model trains, visiting elementary schools to teach about Native Americans, traveling around the world, and dirt biking and target shooting in the West Desert with his family.Gary and Lynn derived a lot of pleasure through the years at their cabin in Island Park, Idaho, where friends and family were always happily greeted.Pepsi was Gary's medicinal cure-all, and Ford was the only legitimate car manufacturer. He basked in the flood of John Wayne memorabilia heaped upon him by his family.Gary and Lynn's posterity includes four sons and one daughter: Jeff (Janel), Laura (Joel), Brian (Aimee), Doug (Jen), and David (Ashley); 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Marnel and Wes; and sister Sharma.Viewings will be held Friday, March 13, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 14, 2026, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 14, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., all at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1845 East 7200 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Interment will follow at the Grantsville City Cemetery.