Leon De Vries Jr.

Leon was born on October 22, 1935, to Leon De Vries Sr. and Pearl Nettie Rogers in San Diego, California. With his father serving in the Navy, he and his siblings had the challenges and opportunities that come from moving regularly as his father was assigned to different bases on both coasts of the United States. They finally settled in Long Beach, California, when it was time for his father to retire.

Leon completed his high school years at David Starr Jordan High school, participating and excelling in swimming and water polo. His children like to brag about his friendship with Bob Denver (Gilligan in the television series with the same name), and interestingly, the two of them were part of an all-city relay team on their high school’s swim team.

Leon has always had a passion for the outdoors and spent a great amount of time hiking and exploring them. It led him to a much-loved job of working at Yellowstone for multiple summers. He always spoke about his time there at Lake Lodge with great appreciation and love for the experiences and especially for the good friends he made there. He has kept in touch with them over the years. He also spent time as a guide in the high sierras and got to know many of the ranges there very well.

After joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November of 1955, Leon was able to serve as a missionary in Holland and learn the language of his paternal ancestors, which even his father could understand and speak a little. During his 2 ½ years in Holland he learned to love the people and culture as he served them in various capacities including as a branch president of the Arnhem Branch and as the Rotterdam District President having responsibility for 5 branches and 24 missionaries in that district.

Not long after returning home in December of 1959, Leon was introduced to the love of his life. If there ever was love at first sight, this was as close to it as it comes. Nancy Adele Irvin stole his heart and never gave it back as he was quite taken with her beauty, her similar love of the outdoors (he actually showed her his backpack in the trunk of his car that was ready to hit the trails at a moment’s notice which she thought was impressive), her great musical talents, and her love of the Lord. He proposed in the moonlight at the Los Angeles temple on August 6, 1960, and they were married in the Los Angeles Temple on June 22, 1961.

Leon has always been very mechanically capable and particularly interested in electronics. From an early age he learned how to repair cars and had jobs rewinding motors and repairing electronic devices. He served our country for six years in the Naval Air Reserves where he also helped repair and maintain planes and helicopters.

Leon completed an Associate of Arts at Long Beach City College in 1956. After getting married, he continued his education at Brigham Young University where he completed a Bachelor of Science in 1964 and a Master of Science with achievements in Industrial Education in 1968. Because of his love of the mountains in northern Utah, and his growing love for teaching, he started teaching at Cyprus High School in Magna, Utah, in 1964 as he worked to finish his Master’s Degree. Solidifying this place as his new home, he and Nancy purchased their home on Harman Drive in 1968 where they raised their 5 sons. In 1969 he became certified and licensed with the State of Utah in Industrial Arts, Vocational Education, and Teaching Electronics which helped him be able to set up his electronics lab at Cyprus with state of the art technology. His electronics program set a new standard in the Granite School District where the district was bussing students from other schools to join in his program. He even had colleges and universities offering him a position to do the same at their schools.

Leon finally retired in 1997, after 33 years of teaching vocational electronics and helping many of his students move onto technical careers. His love for teaching and serving continued as much of his time was spent in the service of his children, growing number of grandchildren, neighbors, and anyone in need. Fruits and vegetables from his many fruit trees and large garden were enjoyed by neighbors and family alike throughout the many decades of his life on Harman Drive. His loving influence and care will be missed.

Leon is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Nancy Adele Irvin De Vries, and children, Daniel and Shelley De Vries, Jeffrey and Linda De Vries, Cameron and Tonya De Vries, Michael and Kaylin De Vries, and Craig and Laura De Vries, as well as 24 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Preceded in death by his sister, Julia Pearl Adams, and brother, Joseph Charles De Vries.

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