Boyd Frank Summerhays ("Papa"), the oldest son of Della and Frank Summerhays, passed away at home on October 26, 2019. His loving wife, Arleen ("Mimi") and son Jeff were with him when he took his last breath. Along with his wife, Boyd is survived by his four children: Jenefer, Jeff, Heather (Brad), Chris (Kim) and by his brothers Denny, Brent, Greg and Alan. Arleen and Boyd have 16 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter. He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Leslie Neil, son-in-law Mark Nielson, and dozens of faithful horses and dogs. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Boyd started working at age nine and only reluctantly slowed down in old age. He served stateside in the Air National Guard during the Korean War and ran a successful tavern during his time off. He married Arleen May Olson in 1953 and they bought their first restaurant, the Balsam Inn, shortly after. They had four children in five years and, in Boyd's words, "worked like hell" until 1959, when the restaurant burned to the ground. Although totally broke, Boyd and Arleen started over and built the Balsam Embers in 1960. The restaurant was a success and they opened a second restaurant, the Cowboy Grub, in 1975. Boyd and Arleen formed many lifelong friendships with their employees and customers. Boyd closed the Balsam Embers in 1980 at the height of its popularity to turn his attention more fully to his family and to breeding and showing cutting horses. A true cowboy, he eventually purchased several hundred acres of ranch land in Delta, Utah only to find out that "the land was almost too poor to even raise kids." Undeterred, Boyd spent several hard years raising a herd of cows on the alkali ground among the jackrabbits and sagebrush. He eventually came to his senses and returned to the beautiful home he and Arleen built on Dimple Dell Road in Sandy, Utah, where he settled more fully into his role as travel companion to Arleen and grandfather to his growing group of grandchildren. In time, each of his grandchildren came to strongly believe they were Papa's favorite.
Well into his retirement, Boyd kept busy with many business interests and projects, but those things always came second to his family. The winds of time eventually smoothed out most of Boyd's rough edges and, after years of encouragement by his long-suffering wife and patient church leaders, he received his Temple endowment in the Monticello, Utah Temple. He and Arleen were sealed together for eternity in the Salt Lake Temple in 2007. Boyd's many successes in life were the result of grit, hard work, endless generosity and love. He lived a full, adventurous life and will be remembered for his passion and quick sense of humor.
Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at noon at 9880 S. 3100 E. in Sandy, UT with a viewing from 10:30-11:30 a.m. An additional viewing will be held Friday evening, November 1, 2019 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 1950 E. 10600 S. Sandy, UT.
