Gerald Donald Cartwright

A man who could fix almost anything and who works harder than anyone else and cared deeply for his family passed away March 28th 2021. Don was born 1927 in Salt Lake City and raised by his parents Lillis (Reagan) and Gerald Temple Cartwright in Salt Lake along with his sister June. He always liked to say he flunked kindergarten, but turns out he was only 4 the first time he went. He graduated from West High School in 1945 and joined the Navy just before his birthday in November of that year. He was going to be a Seabee but ended up serving as a deckhand on a hospital ship in the Pacific near China and Japan..

Don met his sweetheart Lillian Roberts in the spring of 1948 and they married on September 3rd 1948. They raised 5 daughters and 1 son.

Our Dad, Grandpa and great Grandpa can be summed up best in the words of Shawn Swenson (grandson). He has always been the one to call when you needed a tool to repair a car or complete a project because odds are he's done it before. One particular memory I have of him is when one of my brothers was pouring the concrete on his basement floor. I was 19 and Grandpa was about 70 at the time. It was a warm, sunny afternoon in May and our job was to spread the concrete mud as the cement trucks poured it. For anyone who's done that kind of work you know it's not easy and that the cement comes out quickly, but that didn't slow him down. He moved with the agility of a man much younger and before I realized it, we were done. We helped with some finishing work and headed back home (after stopping to get a fountain drink for the road at the gas station.)

He's also a great fisherman, though in recent years he's been unable to go. He's taught all of his grandkids his tricks; just half a worm and a colored mini marshmallow for bait, and the magic words to ensure a catch: "Fishy, fishy, bite my line!" I recall one trip when two of my cousins and I went fishing with him to Rockport Reservoir. We were all between 11-13 years old which is why he likely set himself up over a 100 yards from where we were. Needless to say, neither my cousins nor I caught anything, only he alone managed to reel in a single fish. With over 30 grandkids, he's spent a lot of time fixing broken fishing lines, helping little one's haul in their first catch, all while still keeping an eye on his own line.

He's found numerous ways to keep himself busy over the years, from working in his woodshop, reselling old golf balls, and planning his annual Easter Egg hunt for the grand- and great grandkids, though his declining health has limited this in recent years. Mostly though, he loved taking care of Grandma whose passing two-and-a-half years ago left him empty and without purpose.

Grandpa was reunited with his sweetheart. While we’ll miss his gruff demeanor, his infectious laugh, and his selfless attitude, we know he's where he wants to be...following Grandma around like a watchdog, chatting it up with a stranger, and looking for anything that needs to be done, just to pass the time.

He wasn't one to hug or kiss, but showed his love in so many ways.