Howard Heaton

May 24, 1935 - August 4, 2020

Howard Spring Heaton passed away peacefully in his home on August 4, 2020, surrounded by his family after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Howard was born May 24, 1935 in Ogden, Utah, the only child of William and Elsie Spring Heaton. He grew up in Kaysville and Fruit Heights and took an early interest in the function of cars and other machines. In 1953 he received a scholarship to the University of Southern California to study engineering. While there he met his future wife, Carolyn Elizabeth Bennion, who was also from Utah but was teaching school in the area. They were married July 1, 1957 in the Salt Lake City Temple. Together they moved to Mountain View, California, where he earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University specializing in heat transfer in rocket systems. They had their first two children there and continued growing their family when they returned to Utah after graduation. Howard was hired by the Brigham Young University Department of Mechanical Engineering and taught there from 1963 until his retirement in 1998. Howard was an exceptionally loving and supportive father to his five children. He instilled in his family a love for the outdoors with frequent picnics in the canyons, backpacking trips in the mountains, and jeeping and hiking trips to Canyonlands National Park and other areas of southern Utah. He was the man that could build or fix anything and never tired of keeping cars and appliances running and helping his children and grandchildren with creative construction projects. After retirement he bought an inflatable kayak and went on numerous river adventures with family and friends. However, his greatest love and joy came from spending time with his wife Carolyn. The twinkle in his eye when she walked into the room persisted until his final days. Howard is survived by Carolyn, his wife of 63 years, and his five children: Tim (Julie) of Moab, UT; Ben (Desiree) of San Diego, CA; Katie (Chris) Nadybal of Simi Valley, CA; Sarah (Brian) Griffin of Boise, ID; and Will (Alecia) of Salt Lake City. He is also survived by his 13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His final years were greatly blessed by frequent visits from his youngest grandchild, Gavin Heaton, who loved to play with his collection of model trains. A Viewing will be held Thursday, August 6th, at the Edgemont 6th Ward, 4056 Timpview Drive, Provo, Utah, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Interment and graveside service to be held at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, 3401 Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. Please bring masks. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer's Association. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary.