Today's family update:

Jonas Henry Erekson 1924 ~ 2009

Jonas Henry Erekson passed away peacefully on Feb. 21, 2009. Jonas was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 3, 1924 to Leslie H Erekson and Grace Webb Erekson. His childhood was spent in the Uintah Basin. During his teenage years his family lived in Payson, Utah. He graduated from Payson High School in 1942. He then served in the Navy during World War II working in underwater demolition which was the forerunner of the Navy Seals. After the war ended, he served an LDS mission to the Northern States Mission where his leadership abilities were quickly noticed - for the first six mos. he served as a branch president and the final 13 mos. he served as assistant to the mission president. He married Rela Armstrong on June 2, 1948 in the St. George LDS Temple. Jonas earned a B.S. from BYU and an MBA from the University of Missouri. He worked as an industrial engineer and management consultant for various companies. He was an excellent gardener, known for his no-weeds garden. Jonas could build and fix just about anything. He finished the basement in his homes, knew carpentry, could repair cars and home appliances, and was also very proficient at using computers. An active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jonas served in many positions in the church including bishop, stake high councilman, gospel doctrine teacher, and early morning seminary teacher. While living in the Kansas City area, at the age of 46, Jonas was ordained to the office of patriarch. Over the years he served as a stake patriarch in three different stakes: Kansas City Stake, the Charleston West Virginia Stake and the Sandy Utah Cottonwood Creek Stake. He also served as an ordinance worker at the Jordan River Temple for 22 years. In the decade before his death he worked at family record extraction and more recently also in family search indexing. In that program he indexed in excess of 60,000 names. He was committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He helped and served whenever he could, always volunteering for church service projects and welfare assignments. Jonas and Rela have five children: Ranee Wheatley, Dennis (Kathy), Russell (Cindy), Evelyn Nelson (James), and Jeanie. He is survived by his children, 24 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren; his brothers, Robert, Paul, and Gene. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, his grandson Kevin Erekson, his sister Leone and brother Harold. Funeral services will be Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 at the Telford Ward LDS Chapel, 1834 E. Creek Road, Sandy, Utah at 11:00 a.m. Viewing will be Thursday, Feb. 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Goff Mortuary, 8090 S. State, or Saturday, Feb. 27 at the church from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Interment, Sandy City Cemetery.