Howard Clair Searle

Howard was born in Salem, Utah, in the heart of the roaring twenties; the fifth of six sons and one daughter. He learned to work hard as a boy during the Great Depression, and remained thrifty and self-sufficient throughout his life. He was an excellent student and loved sports, excelling in basketball and football in high school. At the tender age of seventeen, Howard joined the United States Navy, waiting to report until after his high school graduation. After graduation, he immediately began training to become an electronics specialist for the Navy, before shipping out on an aircraft carrier to the island of Guam during WWII, where he excelled in tuning and repairing aircraft communications equipment. His love of electronics and gadgetry became a life-long hobby and passion. After the war, he volunteered to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and was assigned to labor in the Northern States Mission. Within a year of returning from his mission, he met and married, Nona Jean Orton of North Ogden, Utah. Howard continued his education by earning under-graduate and graduate degrees from Brigham Young University. He and Nona moved their young family to southern California where Howard continued his education, going on to earn a PhD from UCLA in American History, with disciplines in Greek and Roman history, as well as, comparative theologies. During these education years, he worked to provide for his family as a teacher and director of several Institutes of Religion for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He continued to teach religion on the college and university levels for the church throughout his career, and eventually left California to teach at the University Of Utah Institute Of Religion. Howard was also called upon to work at church headquarters on the committees that developed church educational manuals for adult education. He accepted many callings of leadership and service within his ward and stake levels. Yet no matter how busy or hard-working Howard was, there was always time for summer trips to the beach, and simple pleasures shared with his family, such as kick-the-can in the street, board games, family nights, or badminton in the back yard. He was an accomplished photographer and had his own dark room. He had to give up the trumpet after a sports injury to his upper lip but continued to delight his children with tunes played on a fife. Howard loved music and was a beautiful tenor, singing in a competitive barbershop quartet at one time. He taught his family about faith, and service, and to love others. He will be greatly missed by his five children: Renee (Searle), Julia (Fernandez), Jean (Grassick), Ann (DeBurgh), and Lynda (Olpin), and their spouses and families. He leaves behind nineteen grandchildren, sixty-two great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Friday, October 17, 2025 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 S. Highland Drive Salt Lake City, Utah. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM at the East Millcreek Stake Center located at 3103 E. Craig Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. There will be a viewing prior to the service from 9:00 to 9:45 AM. To view the live stream please visit: https://zoom.us/j/97687214081