John Alexander Dahlstrom Sr. passed away peacefully on February 11, 2016 surrounded by his family and in the arms of his beautiful wife. John was born in Ogden, Utah, on December 11, 1934 the oldest of three children born to Nephi Harold and Marjorie Brewer Dahlstrom.
He attended Ogden High School, but as the winner of a Ford Foundation scholarship, he left high school a year early and enrolled at the University of Utah at age 16. At the U, he became an enthusiastic Ute fan, and loved the many friendships he made there, especially the life long relationships with his brothers of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1956, with a degree in accounting and a minor in banking and finance, and then earned a law degree from George Washington University in 1961.
Before leaving for law school he married his sweetheart Marylin Hatch in the Salt Lake Temple on August 30, 1956. While attending law school he and his bride traveled to Georgia and California to fulfill his six month Army ROTC commitment as an infantry officer. He served as a Reserve Major in the US Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1956-1967.
During law school he also started his first job with the U.S Comptroller General's Office in Washington D.C. and then worked for two years as a tax law specialist with the US Internal Revenue Service. He returned to Salt Lake City where he practiced law with the law firms of Ray Quinney & Nebeker, Parson\s Behle & Latimer, and Dahlstrom & Dahlstrom. From 1965 to 1985 he was an officer, Director, shareholder and Chairman of Commercial Law at Parson\s Behle & Latimer Law Firm.
In addition to his legal career, in 1970 he acquired Tracy Collins Bank and Trust Company with two partners. In 1982 he bought out his partners to take full ownership of the bank and served as President and Chairman of the Board. He was owner, Chairman and President of Pac Sav Corp., a Hawaiian real estate development company, and founder and director of the Eyring Research Institute at BYU University in Provo, UT.
He was always interested in promoting the growth and development of the state of Utah. He served as Chairman of the University of Utah Institutional Council, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. He was a dedicated volunteer during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He also served on the boards of the Hotel Utah Company, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Salt Lake City Branch.
John was always active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served in a variety of positions throughout his life. He served as a host at the LDS Conference Center with Marylin and as a stake missionary and loved teaching and sharing his strong testimony of the gospel. His favorite calling was working in the young men\s presidency where he was able to teach and inspire young men and enjoyed taking them on many exciting adventures and outings.
Of all of his many pursuits, his family has always been the most important to him. He will always be remembered for his one-on-one conversations, sage advice, enlightened perspective and keen sense of humor. His favorite activity was each Sunday having family dinners with his children, grand children and great-grandchildren, and their friends. Even at his busiest he was always generous with his time, talents, wisdom and resources. He loved spending time with his family traveling, hunting, skiing, boating and cheering on the Utes at football and basketball games.
He will be missed beyond measure by his wife, Marylin, and five children Elizabeth (Jon) Cook, John (Kimberly Ball) Dahlstrom Jr., Alison (Jeff) Wadsworth, Derek Dahlstrom, Amy (Reed) Nelson, his 17 grandchildren (and their spouses), and his 12 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his two sisters Susan (Steve) Sorensen and Sally (Max) Johnson. John was preceded in death by his father and mother.
The family expresses it's thanks to the staff of the University of Utah Hospital for their professional and caring attention to John and the family.
Funeral services will be held at 12:00 Noon on Thursday February 18 , 2016 at the Olympus Cove Ward Chapel (4176 S Adonis Dr, Salt Lake City, Utah). A viewing will be held on Wednesday evening from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Larkin Mortuary (260 E S Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84111) and before services from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Olympus Cove Ward Chapel. Online condolences: www.larkincares.com
