Larry Lenard Gittins

Larry Lenard Gittins, 86, passed away on April 9, 2023 after a long and brave battle with dementia. He was born October 15, 1936 in the family home in Smithfield, Utah. He was the third child of Benjamin Lenard Gittins and Bertha Hancey Gittins. Larry had nine siblings. Richard, Janice Anne, Sidney, Terry, Linda, Christie, Dan, Scott and Jeffry.

Larry was raised in Smithfield, Utah. He and his brothers worked from a very young age taking cows to pasture in the west fields of Smithfield and back to the barn for their milking in the evening. He and all of the Gittins boys worked for Lee and Ollie Woodruff at the dairy in Smithfield. Larry attended Summit Elementary, Smithfield Junior High, and graduated from North Cache High School. He also attended Utah State University. In high school he was known as a gifted cornet player and musician. He even played his cornet in a dance band. Larry was a clever fellow in high school as he worked on the school newspaper and yearbook. Throughout life he was a voracious reader. He was also a wizard at word puzzles and games. Larry was quick-witted and always had a joke to tell. He enjoyed camping and fishing, motorcycling and boating. He always had a faithful, good dog by his side, of note were Puppy, Mini, Petey and Rudy.

He was also full of small town mischief. He and his brothers or best friends caused plenty of trouble and pranks. Moving outhouses out of place, setting manure piles on fire on home porches, shooting his own brother Terry in the eyelid with a B.B. gun or playing ring toss with old motor fan belts from the balcony of the local theater were some of his notorious pastimes.

Larry married Jeanine Olson December 27, 1955. Together they had nine children, twins Roland and Ronald, Barbara, Larry Lane (Shelley Kirby), DeAnn (Aaron Lichfield), Tracy (María Blanca Velásquez), Laura (Mark Smith), Karin and Jeanne (Chris Murray). He and the mother of his children, Jeanine, lost their first three children in their infancy. Larry and Jeanine divorced after 35 years of marriage. Larry met Francis Kay Wescoatt online and they were later married. Kay and Larry share a common birthday. Larry lived in Ogden; Farr West; Georgetown, Idaho; Smithfield and Logan. Kay and Larry have been married for 22 years.

Larry served in the Army Reserves and worked as a Logan City Police officer for a short time. He was a bread truck delivery driver for Wonderbread and Familee Bread while in his twenties. He moved his young family from Logan to Ogden to manage the Eddy’s Bread Company. He later became a food products salesman for Cook Coffee Company, Boyd Coffee and Lyons Magnus Restaurant food supply. He was an affable and a successful salesman. Larry loved his family and worked hard and long hours to provide for them.

With his family he taught his young children to sing in harmony to keep the peace while driving in the family car. All of his children followed in his musical footsteps and play multiple instruments well. He enjoyed his musically talented family, where all his sons, daughters, in-laws and grandchildren joined together for a yearly tradition of the Christmas Family Band or a 4th of July event. He often reflected on his posterity with the quip, “Not a Clinker in the bunch.”

Larry is survived by his wife Kay and five children, Larry Lane, DeAnn, Tracy, Karin and Jeanne. He was preceded in death by his infant children Roland, Ronald and Barbara and his daughter Laura G. Smith.

Services for Larry will be held on Monday, April 17, 2023 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 175 South 100 West, Smithfield, Utah. Viewing from 10:30 to 11:30 am, funeral at 12:00 noon. Interment will be in the Smithfield Cemetery.