DeVere Richard McAllister passed away Feb. 2, 2008 in St. George, UT of Causes Incident to Age.
He was born to Richard Wesley and Clara Albertina Johnson McAllister in Provo, Utah Nov. 11, 1917. Ever since then his birthday has been celebrated as a national holiday having been designated Veterans Day in 1918. He grew up in Blanding, UT and graduated from San Juan High School.
While attending Dixie State College in St. George from 1935 to 1937, he met Ila Cox in the marching band; she played the cymbals, he played the bass drum. They were married in the St. George LDS Temple on Sept. 28, 1938, and chaperoned a group of 4-H girls to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City on their honeymoon. DeVere earned B.S. (1939) and M.S. (1948) degrees in agronomy from Utah State Agricultural College (USAC) in Logan, UT. Between 1939 and 1948, he worked for the Soil Conservation Service in Hatch and Albuquerque, NM, Ft. Collins, CO, and Beaver, UT. He served briefly in the Navy as a Lieutenant JG during 1944 and 1945, training as a Malay interpreter and in intelligence services, but he did not see combat duty. Occasional Malay words were part of the family vocabulary thereafter. He received a Ph.D. degree in plant breeding from Iowa State University in Ames in 1950, and returned to join the USAC faculty (now Utah State University), where he spent the remainder of his career in teaching, research, and extension. His extension services work took him throughout the state of Utah assisting farmers in improving their crops. He advised and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students in agronomy, including his son Ray.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked for the USAID/USU team in La Paz, Bolivia assisting farmers with high altitude forage crops. DeVere was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as bishop of a Utah State University student ward, president of the Bolivia La Paz and Bolivia Santa Cruz Missions from 1975 to 1978, and later president of the Logan Utah Stake. He was beloved scoutmaster "Mac" to many boys in several troops over the years. He was an enthusiastic scouter his entire life, serving as council president and receiving the Silver Beaver Award for volunteer service in the Cache Valley Council in Logan. DeVere and Ila retired to St. George, UT in the 1980s, where he became known for his prolific vegetable and fruit garden, and continued work with scouts. Ila passed away in 2001, and DeVere married Dessie Reber the following year.
DeVere is survived by his wife, Dessie; one brother, Wesley, Sacramento, CA; one sister, Vera Jackson, St. George, UT; six children, Claranita (Wayne) Ernstrom, Martinez, CA; Francis Ralph (Marcia Hutchison), Billings, MT, Salt Lake City, UT, Mesquite, NV; Mary Elizabeth (Mark) Bold, San Francisco, CA; Ray Scott (Juanita Jenkins), Derwood, MD; Wilford DeVere (Zelda Black), Taylorsville, UT; LeAnne (Craig) Loosle, North Logan, UT; 21 grandchildren; and 38 great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held in the Red Hills LDS Chapel, 200 West 500 North, on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Friends may call on the Family Friday evening from 6-8 p.m., at the Metcalf Mortuary, 300 West St. George Boulevard, and Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Red Hills Chapel.
Interment will be in the St. George City Cemetery.
Published in the Deseret News on 2/5/2008.
He was born to Richard Wesley and Clara Albertina Johnson McAllister in Provo, Utah Nov. 11, 1917. Ever since then his birthday has been celebrated as a national holiday having been designated Veterans Day in 1918. He grew up in Blanding, UT and graduated from San Juan High School.
While attending Dixie State College in St. George from 1935 to 1937, he met Ila Cox in the marching band; she played the cymbals, he played the bass drum. They were married in the St. George LDS Temple on Sept. 28, 1938, and chaperoned a group of 4-H girls to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City on their honeymoon. DeVere earned B.S. (1939) and M.S. (1948) degrees in agronomy from Utah State Agricultural College (USAC) in Logan, UT. Between 1939 and 1948, he worked for the Soil Conservation Service in Hatch and Albuquerque, NM, Ft. Collins, CO, and Beaver, UT. He served briefly in the Navy as a Lieutenant JG during 1944 and 1945, training as a Malay interpreter and in intelligence services, but he did not see combat duty. Occasional Malay words were part of the family vocabulary thereafter. He received a Ph.D. degree in plant breeding from Iowa State University in Ames in 1950, and returned to join the USAC faculty (now Utah State University), where he spent the remainder of his career in teaching, research, and extension. His extension services work took him throughout the state of Utah assisting farmers in improving their crops. He advised and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students in agronomy, including his son Ray.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked for the USAID/USU team in La Paz, Bolivia assisting farmers with high altitude forage crops. DeVere was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as bishop of a Utah State University student ward, president of the Bolivia La Paz and Bolivia Santa Cruz Missions from 1975 to 1978, and later president of the Logan Utah Stake. He was beloved scoutmaster "Mac" to many boys in several troops over the years. He was an enthusiastic scouter his entire life, serving as council president and receiving the Silver Beaver Award for volunteer service in the Cache Valley Council in Logan. DeVere and Ila retired to St. George, UT in the 1980s, where he became known for his prolific vegetable and fruit garden, and continued work with scouts. Ila passed away in 2001, and DeVere married Dessie Reber the following year.
DeVere is survived by his wife, Dessie; one brother, Wesley, Sacramento, CA; one sister, Vera Jackson, St. George, UT; six children, Claranita (Wayne) Ernstrom, Martinez, CA; Francis Ralph (Marcia Hutchison), Billings, MT, Salt Lake City, UT, Mesquite, NV; Mary Elizabeth (Mark) Bold, San Francisco, CA; Ray Scott (Juanita Jenkins), Derwood, MD; Wilford DeVere (Zelda Black), Taylorsville, UT; LeAnne (Craig) Loosle, North Logan, UT; 21 grandchildren; and 38 great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held in the Red Hills LDS Chapel, 200 West 500 North, on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Friends may call on the Family Friday evening from 6-8 p.m., at the Metcalf Mortuary, 300 West St. George Boulevard, and Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Red Hills Chapel.
Interment will be in the St. George City Cemetery.
Published in the Deseret News on 2/5/2008.
DeVere Richard McAllister passed away Feb. 2, 2008 in St. George, UT of Causes Incident to Age.
He was born to Richard Wesley and Clara Albertina Johnson McAllister in Provo, Utah Nov. 11, 1917. Ever since then his birthday has been celebrated as a national holiday having been designated Veterans Day in 1918. He grew up in Blanding, UT and graduated from San Juan High School.
While attending Dixie State College in St. George from 1935 to 1937, he met Ila Cox in the marching band; she played the cymbals, he played the bass drum. They were married in the St. George LDS Temple on Sept. 28, 1938, and chaperoned a group of 4-H girls to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City on their honeymoon. DeVere earned B.S. (1939) and M.S. (1948) degrees in agronomy from Utah State Agricultural College (USAC) in Logan, UT. Between 1939 and 1948, he worked for the Soil Conservation Service in Hatch and Albuquerque, NM, Ft. Collins, CO, and Beaver, UT. He served briefly in the Navy as a Lieutenant JG during 1944 and 1945, training as a Malay interpreter and in intelligence services, but he did not see combat duty. Occasional Malay words were part of the family vocabulary thereafter. He received a Ph.D. degree in plant breeding from Iowa State University in Ames in 1950, and returned to join the USAC faculty (now Utah State University), where he spent the remainder of his career in teaching, research, and extension. His extension services work took him throughout the state of Utah assisting farmers in improving their crops. He advised and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students in agronomy, including his son Ray.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked for the USAID/USU team in La Paz, Bolivia assisting farmers with high altitude forage crops. DeVere was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as bishop of a Utah State University student ward, president of the Bolivia La Paz and Bolivia Santa Cruz Missions from 1975 to 1978, and later president of the Logan Utah Stake. He was beloved scoutmaster "Mac" to many boys in several troops over the years. He was an enthusiastic scouter his entire life, serving as council president and receiving the Silver Beaver Award for volunteer service in the Cache Valley Council in Logan. DeVere and Ila retired to St. George, UT in the 1980s, where he became known for his prolific vegetable and fruit garden, and continued work with scouts. Ila passed away in 2001, and DeVere married Dessie Reber the following year.
DeVere is survived by his wife, Dessie; one brother, Wesley, Sacramento, CA; one sister, Vera Jackson, St. George, UT; six children, Claranita (Wayne) Ernstrom, Martinez, CA; Francis Ralph (Marcia Hutchison), Billings, MT, Salt Lake City, UT, Mesquite, NV; Mary Elizabeth (Mark) Bold, San Francisco, CA; Ray Scott (Juanita Jenkins), Derwood, MD; Wilford DeVere (Zelda Black), Taylorsville, UT; LeAnne (Craig) Loosle, North Logan, UT; 21 grandchildren; and 38 great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held in the Red Hills LDS Chapel, 200 West 500 North, on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Friends may call on the Family Friday evening from 6-8 p.m., at the Metcalf Mortuary, 300 West St. George Boulevard, and Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Red Hills Chapel.
Interment will be in the St. George City Cemetery.
Published in the Deseret News on 2/5/2008.
He was born to Richard Wesley and Clara Albertina Johnson McAllister in Provo, Utah Nov. 11, 1917. Ever since then his birthday has been celebrated as a national holiday having been designated Veterans Day in 1918. He grew up in Blanding, UT and graduated from San Juan High School.
While attending Dixie State College in St. George from 1935 to 1937, he met Ila Cox in the marching band; she played the cymbals, he played the bass drum. They were married in the St. George LDS Temple on Sept. 28, 1938, and chaperoned a group of 4-H girls to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City on their honeymoon. DeVere earned B.S. (1939) and M.S. (1948) degrees in agronomy from Utah State Agricultural College (USAC) in Logan, UT. Between 1939 and 1948, he worked for the Soil Conservation Service in Hatch and Albuquerque, NM, Ft. Collins, CO, and Beaver, UT. He served briefly in the Navy as a Lieutenant JG during 1944 and 1945, training as a Malay interpreter and in intelligence services, but he did not see combat duty. Occasional Malay words were part of the family vocabulary thereafter. He received a Ph.D. degree in plant breeding from Iowa State University in Ames in 1950, and returned to join the USAC faculty (now Utah State University), where he spent the remainder of his career in teaching, research, and extension. His extension services work took him throughout the state of Utah assisting farmers in improving their crops. He advised and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students in agronomy, including his son Ray.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked for the USAID/USU team in La Paz, Bolivia assisting farmers with high altitude forage crops. DeVere was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as bishop of a Utah State University student ward, president of the Bolivia La Paz and Bolivia Santa Cruz Missions from 1975 to 1978, and later president of the Logan Utah Stake. He was beloved scoutmaster "Mac" to many boys in several troops over the years. He was an enthusiastic scouter his entire life, serving as council president and receiving the Silver Beaver Award for volunteer service in the Cache Valley Council in Logan. DeVere and Ila retired to St. George, UT in the 1980s, where he became known for his prolific vegetable and fruit garden, and continued work with scouts. Ila passed away in 2001, and DeVere married Dessie Reber the following year.
DeVere is survived by his wife, Dessie; one brother, Wesley, Sacramento, CA; one sister, Vera Jackson, St. George, UT; six children, Claranita (Wayne) Ernstrom, Martinez, CA; Francis Ralph (Marcia Hutchison), Billings, MT, Salt Lake City, UT, Mesquite, NV; Mary Elizabeth (Mark) Bold, San Francisco, CA; Ray Scott (Juanita Jenkins), Derwood, MD; Wilford DeVere (Zelda Black), Taylorsville, UT; LeAnne (Craig) Loosle, North Logan, UT; 21 grandchildren; and 38 great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held in the Red Hills LDS Chapel, 200 West 500 North, on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Friends may call on the Family Friday evening from 6-8 p.m., at the Metcalf Mortuary, 300 West St. George Boulevard, and Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Red Hills Chapel.
Interment will be in the St. George City Cemetery.
Published in the Deseret News on 2/5/2008.
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