Our kind-hearted, loving, patient, and truly Christlike Dad left this world on August 14, 2023, to be greeted with love by our mother, his parents, his brother, his sons, and many others who loved him.
Our Dad possessed many gifts in this life – he was patient, almost to a fault, extremely kind and those who knew of his kind heart, felt it. Jan had his own brand of humor which will be missed by his children and grandchildren. Jan had a creative, inventive mind and he found joy in creating with his hands. Even with limited resources he could create something useful – that was his gift!
Jan Upwall was born on June 11, 1939, to Ronald and Edel Upwall in Oslo, Norway. He was the second child of five. As a young child during World War 2, he was separated from his family for a time and lived in Sweden due to the difficult circumstances the war had created until his parents could reunite his family and bring them to the US. What Jan learned from this experience was an attitude of “It was just an adventure” and to be patient even when life is hard.
Jan attended Granite High School where he was on the swimming team and in the Civil Air Patrol. He served in the US Army at Fort Benning, Georgia. He earned the rank of Spec 4 and was also on the Army shooting team and he advanced to Artillery 4.2 Mortarman. He was stationed in Germany for a time and was later honorably discharged in 1962. Jan spoke with great pride of the time he served his country.
Jan attended Clatsop Technology School in Oregon and majored in Industrial Technology. Jan married a young lady, Marie, and adopted her son, Russell. Jan and Marie had three children together: Roald, Theresa, and Tangerine. He found joy in his young family. Jan had a deep love for all his children. He later married Donna Linn Cleveland and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were sealed in the Oakland Temple in 1974. They had four children: Robert, Aaron, Tanya, and David.
Jan always dreamed of raising his family in the country and moved his family to Erda, Utah. He used his remarkable building skills to build the three homes where we grew up. Jan had an incredibly creative mind and an inventive, loving soul. He also found joy in creating and working on numerous automotive projects. He was known to turn junk into something useful.
He and our mother found love and solace as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They held many callings in the Church. They found the most joy in being Temple workers.
Jan held many jobs in his lifetime, but when asked he spoke fondly of his time at the Metal Art Company where he was a sheet metal artist and created sheet metal equipment for restaurants.
To describe our Dad is to describe a quiet, humble man with a great level of patience, creative ingenuity, and a profound love of his Savior Jesus Christ.
He is survived by his siblings, Helene Upwall, Maeiva Upwall, and Dag Upwall; his children, Theresa Stepp, Tangerine Jett, Robert Upwall, Aaron Upwall, Tanya Snider, and David Upwall; son-in-law, Curtis Snider; and daughter-in-law, Rachelle Upwall. Jan had a deep and sincere love for his grandchildren and found great joy in being their Grandpa.
Jan was preceded in death by his parents, Roald Upwall and Edel Edwartzen; his brother, Tor Upwall; his wife, Donna Upwall; previous wife, Marie; sons, Russell and Roald Upwall; and son-in-law, Mark Abbott.
Memorial services will be held on Friday, August 25, 2023, at Larkin Sunset Lawn Mortuary. The family viewing will be at 10 am and the celebration of his life will be at 11 am. Interment will follow at Larkin Sunset Lawn.
I will miss our “chats” as he would stop by under the shade of our blue spruce tree as he made his way around the neighborhood on his walks. A very kind man indeed.
My condolences to the Upwall family. Donna and Jan were always kind. I hope you find peace in their reuniting. God bless.
Brother Upwall was in my ward here in Kearns, UT. He was always such a great guy to be around. I have only been his Bishop for the past 11 months, and only been in his ward for the past 2 years, but I have always been so impressed with his willingness to keep going. He would come to church with a smile on his face. He had a great testimony or Jesus Christ. I know the gospel was special to him. Even when he struggled to walk he was at church participating in learning more about his Savior Jesus Christ.
A few days before his death, I went and visited with him in his home. He struggled to speak, but he still seemed so positive with everything going on. In his home we talked about the things he had on the walls and laying around. They all pointed to his family. I can tell he loved his family very much, and they were a big part of his life.
Jan was a great friend, and he will truly be missed. I wish I had the opportunity to get to know Jan a bit more. He will be very missed in the ward.