Ronald Dean Riddle

Ronald Dean Riddle (Ron), age 84, passed away peacefully at home on November 30 after a courageous 30-year battle with diabetes. Ron was born January 2, 1941, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Arlo Dean Riddle and Ruby Caroline Gallup Riddle. He grew up in Salt Lake City and graduated from Olympus High School in 1959. He served in the Utah Army National Guard.

Ron was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving four missions for the Church, the first for two years in the Northern States Mission from 1962–64. After his mission, he fell in love with and married Shauna Vance of Salt Lake City in the Salt Lake Temple on August 27, 1965. She is the daughter of Reed and Vidella Rushton Vance.

In 1967, Ron graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Banking and Finance and spent his career in the financial field. He worked for Riddle Inc., IML Freight, D-Mart, Happy Ads, and PBC. He also owned and operated Ron's Clean Sweep Co. before obtaining a position at Salt Lake Community College, where he retired after fifteen years. He served on the board of directors for the Salt Lake Credit Union and on committees for Mountain America Credit Union.

Having a firm testimony of the gospel, he served in many capacities, including as a teacher in Primary, Young Men, Sunday School, elders quorum, stake seventies quorum, and the high priests group. He also served as elders quorum counselor, stake seventies president, stake missionary, ward mission leader, high priests group leader, Sunday School president, ward and stake clerk, ward and stake executive secretary, and ward family history consultant.

One of the loves of his life was temple and family history work. He served as an ordinance worker in both the Salt Lake and Nauvoo Temples. He and Shauna served a mission to the Nauvoo Temple in 2012 and as employment service missionaries in 2015–2016.

Aside from his lifelong interest in the gospel, Ron was an avid reader of science fiction novels. His bookshelf was full of paperbacks from the golden age of science fiction, one of which remained unfinished at his bedside upon his death. He made yearly lists of the books he read and rated them for his own record. This was a pastime he rarely talked about unless asked, and it never faded.

Ron's sense of humor will be missed. Not one for telling common dad jokes, he instead laughed about life's mistakes, such as when, dancing with his mother, he dipped her low and watched her precious wig drop to the floor. He enjoyed entertaining his children and grandchildren with a standup routine about swallowing peanut butter that is now a cherished family memory. And who can forget the invisible ball tossed into a sack to the wonder of the young children?

He loved to dance, and if it weren't for this passion, Shauna might not have dated him for long. But it was his character as a man of integrity that truly won her heart. Ron was devoted to her and no one else and would tolerate no disrespect from his children toward their mother.

Ron is survived by his wife, Shauna; six sons and two daughters: Vincent (Heather), Jared (Heidi), Chantelle, Wayde (Gloria), Lanea Black (Stuart), Gavin, Royce (Annika), and Spencer (Heather); a sister, Rita Wright; 26 grandchildren; and seven great- grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held December 9 at 11:00 a.m. at the Holladay 8th Ward, 5450 S. Holladay Blvd., Holladay, Utah. A viewing will be held the evening before at the same building on December 8 from 6:00–8:00 p.m., and on December 9 before the funeral service from 10:00–10:45 a.m. Interment will be at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E. Dimple Dell Road (10600 S.), Sandy, Utah.

To watch a livestream of the services via Zoom please click the blue "Watch Services" tab at the top of the obituary.