Fred
C. Heaton was born on August 18, 1882, in Orderville, Utah, the child
of Jonathan Heaton and Lucy Elizabeth Carrol. He married Sarah LaVerna Isom on
December 28, 1906, in St George, Utah. They had seven children in 22
years. He died on November 21, 1964, in Kanab, Utah, at the age of 82,
and was buried there. |
| Jonathan Heaton and his sons |
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| Fred and his siblings at their 8th Grade Graduation |
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| Fred C. and LaVerna |
His family lived on the ranch in Mocassin, Arizona. Mocassin was about 30 miles south of Kanab. He did not have an 8th grade education until a pretty school teacher came to the ranch. Her name was Sarah Isom, but everyone called her by her middle name LaVerna. Fred and LaVerna got married on 28 December 1906. He was 24 and she was 21 and she made sure he graduated from the 8th grade. They lived their lives on the ranch and Fred loved every moment of it.
His daughter remembered- "Papa loved nature and some of the choice experiences of my childhood
came from him sharing his knowledge and the beauties of nature with us.
On warm summer evening we would sit on the lawn and he would talk to us
about the stars, identifying many of them. He could also identify the
night sounds of the crickets, grasshoppers, coyotes, frogs and cougars
and tell us about their activities and habits. One winter evening Papa
came in from milking and asked us to go outside to look at the evening
star which was shining just inside the lower tip of the new moon.
Against the deep blue of the evening sky it was truly a lovely sight.
Papa loved working in the gardens. He would often pick one perfect rose,
dahlia or gladiola spray and place it by Mama's place at the dinner
table."
"His work on the cattle range or the farm was long and exceedingly
hard, but he always found time to plant flowers and walk through the
gardens each day. Over the years he tried planting many different trees,
shrubs, vines, flowers and vegetables. The first oleander shrub I ever
saw was in Papa's garden and I remember how tenderly he nurtured it
until one severe winter killed the shrub. Papa planted peanuts and yams
one summer, but lack of rain, heat and probably the wrong soil made for a
poor crop. We thought it was fun to harvest even a few peanuts. He
always had a marvelous vegetable garden and all kinds of fruits and
melons.
Papa's idea of the perfect trip was to go into the country and be one
with nature."
"On the other hand, he loved the desert and
found real satisfaction in succeeding under the existing harsh
conditions.
Papa didn't believe in physically punishing a child. The family joke was
that he gave Fred a thrashing for pushing Edna into the ashes during a
fight they were having. Papa felt children could learn right behavior
from example and reasoning. He never said much, but we always knew what
was expected of us and knew he would be very disappointed if we didn't
measure up to what he expected from each one of us."
A grandchild remembered at his funeral- "He was a lover of good animals, no matter what the cost. If he saw what
he wanted and it was good, he would get it. And he could always tell if
it was good. He was gentle with his horses and cattle. He also loved
wild animals and never wantonly destroyed them. Instead, he went with
his children to the Kaibab and caught fawn and then helped the children
raise them. Then when the fawn were grown, they were turned back to the
Government.
Grandpa was intensely interested in Government and insisted on voting in
this last election even though he was ill at the time. The same was
true with education—he had a love for this, and he instilled this love
in his children.
So these are just a very few of the things contained in Grandpa's
legacy, but we value them much more highly than fame or worldly
treasures or anything, for he gave us a pattern for living."
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| Fred, LaVerna and their children at Lucy's Wedding Day. |
He was a good man, a kind father and lived a life that makes his decedents proud.
