Kim J Abplanalp passed away on July 26, 2020 after a brief but valiant fight against brain cancer. Kim was born on June 11, 1956 to Jay & Euelues Abplanalp in Vernal, UT. He loved Vernal & used to tell stories of riding his horse to the gas station to buy peanuts & a Coke.
As a child his family moved to Cottonwood Heights where his dad ran a service station - Jay’s Gulf. Kim married the love of his life, Sandra Ames on August 29, 1978. Oh, how he loved her. Together they raised four boys: Chance, RD, Joel, & Bryce in Riverton, UT.
He was always a cowboy at heart & passed that love of rodeo down to most of his kids. Kim worked nearly his entire career at Hercules (& whatever other company it became along the way) until he retired with Northrop Grumman just last year. He loved his job & met many wonderful people. He was so proud of the work they did.
Kim loved to hunt & fish with his friends & family. He loved hunting pheasants in South Dakota or bears in Canada, but he especially loved his cabin in Fruitland. Our family has many wonderful memories there hunting & fishing & being together. Kim loved his family.
He is survived by his beautiful wife who he loved dearly, Sandi; his four boys: Chance, Ryan (Jetta), Joel, & Bryce (Jeffrey); five grandchildren that he adored & was so proud of: Blaze, McKaylee, Rev, LaRue, & Ridge; and his siblings Pamela (Bill) & David (Flora). His loving parents preceded him in death & surely welcomed him home. Our family would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, & all the doctors & nurses & others that treated Kim & supported our family.
A viewing will be held Thursday July 30 from 6-8pm at Larkin Mortuary (3688 W 12600 S Riverton, UT.) Due to health department guidelines, a small private funeral will be held Friday July 31 at 11am at Larkin Mortuary, preceded by a 30 minute viewing.
Sandi and family, David, Flora, and family, Pamela, Bill and family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families at this time. Kim was always smiling and we all have happy memories when Uncle Jay and Aunt Euelues lived here in Vernal. He will always be remembered and never forgotten. May the Lord be with you and bless you at this time.
Diane (Abplanalp) Coltharp, Kerry and Alice (Abplanalp) Caldwell, Doyle and Tammy (Abplanalp) Holmes.
Heaven gained an angel .We were blessed to have someone like Kim in our lives💕Sandi, You brought so much love and joy into his life. 💞 May God hold you close and help you all during this difficult time,sending love ,hugs and prayers. Bill Pam and family💕🙏💕
Dear Sandi and Family,
I am very saddened to hear about Kim. He is my very dear friend and I will think of him often. I worked closely with Kim for about 25 years. We lost touch some when I retired in 2012 and we moved to Texas for a few years, but I saw him last October and we had a nice discussion. He told me how much he was enjoying retirement and your cabin in Fruitland. During the time I worked with Kim we would talk at least several times a week, if not daily. He is absolutely one of best and kindest people I have ever known. He always had the greatest and most upbeat attitude, even when he was going through the health challenges a number of years ago. He always talked about how proud he was of his children and how lucky he was to have such a wonderful wife. He had many talents at work, including being a great manager, and he had the unique ability to build strong relationships with our customers and the people that he worked with. If we ever had a customer relations problem that needed to be fixed, we would call on Kim and he always fixed it. Everyone liked Kim and wanted to be his friend. I had the great pleasure of going pheasant hunting with him (and his dogs) once, and it was great fun. If I can ever provide assistance to you or your family, please let me know.
With my deepest sympathy,
David Peet
Dear Sandi and Family. I am so saddened to hear about Kim's passing. I worked with Kim for several years and I am glad to have had the opportunity to get to know him. Every time we had a meeting at the end we would discuss his family, cabin life, where he was going to place his game cameras and his many planned hunts. Kim was a go getter at work and I was grateful for that as it made my job easier and pushed me to be a better employee. As you can see in the picture, Kim had a wonderful smile and was very energetic at work. I was happy for him when he finally retired and knew he had many plans. Just sorry to hear it was cut short. I am certain that where he is now he will continue to fulfill some of his retirement plans. My prayers are with you and your family at this difficult time and I pray that you and your family will be comforted with the many wonderful memories of Kim.
My deepest sympathies go out to Kim’s family. I met Kim in a car pool in the mid 80’s. He was a wonderful person. He always had a smile and kind word to say. He used to regale us with stories from his rodeo days and always made us laugh.
Throughout my career at Hercules (and various other names) I would see Kim occasionally and he always brightened my day.
Sorry to hear about your loss. We lost touch after you guys moved. You always had such a wonderful family. Our family sends our condolences and Love. May God watch over you and your Family.
The Carpenters
We are saddened at Kim’s passing and express our very deepest sympathy to you and your family. Time has passed so quickly since we spent time together with our young families. We have some great memories. May you continue to be strengthened in the coming days and may you find comfort and peace in your precious memories. God bless you.
We are saddened to here about Kim. Kim was and still is{another place} a great man. he was one of those guys you could always depend on. He influenced our boys and family for the good. Our heart goes out to you Sandi and family.
The work ethic that our dad taught us in our youth has made us successful both in business and in life. I am happy to have known you as my brother. The legacy that you have created will go on for a long long time. I am happy to know that you are free of pain. I thank God for the knowledge of the plan of salvation. I pray that God will bless and comfort Sandi, Chance, RD, Joel, Bryce and their families, especially during this difficult time.
Our heart goes out to you at this time. Way too soon for a good man with a great family .
Dear Aunt Sandy, Chance, RD, Joel and Bryce,
You have my deepest condolences over Kim's passing. He was a good man who will be missed.
Sincerely,
Mike
So sorry for your loss! I worked with Kim at Northrop Grumman! Always enjoyed working with him. Such a wonderful man. He spoke a lot about his wonderful family and I could tell how much love he had for you all! I am sad he didn’t get the time to enjoy his retirement. Gone way too soon! May happy times and memories with him flood your heart. Praying for you all. With deepest sympathy! Tammy
I'm so sorry for your loss, my thoughts are with you during this difficult time.
I had the pleasure of working with Kim for many years at ATK. My best memories are from our shared experience of working on a proposal team in Alabama. Kim was always a great resource and fun to be around. He made the long hours and being far from home less of a hardship. I miss his sense of humor and friendship.
With sympathy,
Guin Cummings