Gary E Rollins

Gary E Rollins, wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully in his home on November 5, 2020. Born August 3, 1939 to Julian Evan Rollins and Hilda Eyre he was the youngest of six children. His mother was diagnosed with cancer while she was expecting Gary but chose to forego treatment until after he was safely born. She passed away when he was only a year old and his Grandma Phoebe stepped in to help raise him in his hometown of Parowan, Utah.

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He attended Parowan High School where he had an active social life and was a cheerleader. He graduated in 1957 and he moved to Salt Lake City where he lived with his beloved sister Kaye while he attended and graduated from Stevens Henager College. While living in Salt Lake his friend Tommy introduced him to the love of his life, Catherine Crawford. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 25, 1961.

After a few years they moved to Sugarhouse and it was there Gary and Cathy put down their roots, raised their seven children and loved their neighbors. Gary worked at many businesses and eventually retired from Airborne Express.

Gary found a lot of joy in the simple things in life. Cooking the perfect au gratin potatoes, painting ceramics, wearing colorful Hawaiian shirts, stocking a never-ending supply of Oreos, traveling with friends, listening to music, making the world’s best malts and watering his large yard by hand with a hose for hours. Many of the things he enjoyed doing also happened to bring joy to others. He was like that.

If you were to ask Gary to name his greatest accomplishment in his life it wouldn’t be found in money or degrees or personal achievements but in loving his family. He, of course, loved his children but if we are being honest his grandchildren and great-grandchildren were his greatest joy. He was the get-down-on-the-floor type Grandpa. Whether it was playing with cars or dolls, hiding under a blanket or having a tea party Grandpa was in! He loved to take the grandkids on walks, to Lagoon, to Liberty Park to feed the ducks, or the neighborhood park to play. Gary had a talent for decorating cakes and he used it to the extreme to celebrate his grandchildren!

Gary was devoted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and no matter how inadequate he may have felt he accepted and served in many callings, always serving with all his heart. His favorite calling was working at the recommend desk at the Salt Lake Temple for many years. He was faithful all his life despite the many challenges he faced. He was often asked why he stayed true to his faith and his response was “I have always known it is true.”

Gary is survived by his wife Catherine, sisters-in-law Helen Rollins and Helen Bauman, sons; Bryan, David (Kelli), Mark (Brittney), Paul and Nathan, daughters; Susan Lawrence and Debbie (Jason) Willborn, 12 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, November 9, 2020 at 11:00 AM with a viewing beforehand from 9:00-10:30 AM at Memorial Redwood Mortuary at 6500 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, Utah. An evening viewing will be held at the same location Sunday, November 8, 2020 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. Interment to follow at the same location.

Due to the landscape of COVID-19, wearing a mask is required for Salt Lake County guidelines, and social distancing is encouraged. Only 50 attendees will be in the building at a time. To participate in the funeral service via live stream, please view instructions below:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Joiningbycomputer

a. Go to zoom.us in any internet browser

b. Click“joinmeeting”

c. Enter the meeting id - 8012624631

d. A box will open saying “https://zoom.us wants to open this application”. Click “open

zoom”

e. Click “Join with Computer Audio”

f. Click “Mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt

the funeral services

2. Joining by phone or iPad

a. Download the Zoom app

b. Open the app and select “join a meeting”

c. Enter the meeting id - 8012624631

d. Select “join without video”

e. Select “Call using internet audio”

f. Select “mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt

the funeral services.