Arlow Leon Freestone

January 2, 1923 ~ April 18, 2018
After 95 years of a life well lived, Arlow Leon Freestone departed this mortal sphere on April 18, 2018 and moved on to bigger and better things.
In so doing, he has reunited with other members of his family as well as many friends who preceded him in death.
There is no doubt that, right now, in celestial realms, a celebration of monumental proportions is taking place.
Arlow lived a simple but committed life of service to God, family, country and community with a lot of fishing, hunting, and gardening thrown in.
Duty was important to him, and he could always be found doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.
Arlow was born on January 2, 1923 to Perrigrine and Myrtle Freestone in the small town of Oakley, ID – the second of what would eventually be six children.
He spent his childhood and elementary school years in Oakley and then the family moved to Kimberly, ID where he lived until he graduated from Kimberly High School in 1940.
He then moved to Salt Lake City, UT to attend Henager School of Business, but his studies there were interrupted by World War II.
He was drafted into the army in January of 1943 (he and his brother had tried to enlist in the marines earlier but were rejected because both were color blind).
He served in England until he received an honorable discharge in November 1945.
Associated with this, 70 years later, Arlow was able to participate with other World War II vets in a program called “Honor Flight”.
In this program, the vets were flown to Washington, DC where they were feted for several days. This became a signal event in his life.
Following his discharge, Arlow completed his schooling at Henager School of Business, graduating in 1947 with a bachelors degree in business administration.
Then, in 1949, at the ripe old age of 26, he was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Central Atlantic States.
He served for two years, and during that time, met a sister missionary, Emma Lou Palmer, with whom he was apparently quite taken. On August 22, 1951, following the completion of their missions, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple.
In late 1952, the newlyweds moved to Monticello, and except for short intervals, never really left.
Their first child was born on July 5, 1952 and was named Blen after his favorite cousin who was killed in action at the close of World War II.
Emma didn’t want to have any more children after Blen, due to severe colic, cried for the first six months of his life.
Arlow managed to talk her out of this decision and Kerry, Deborah, Alan, and Reed followed – apparently, perfect little angels as babies.
Employment wise, Arlow worked for Western Mine Supply for three years, followed by three years at Young’s Machine Company, before going into the insurance business for a short time.
In 1959, Arlow became the administrator of San Juan Hospital and stayed there until he retired.
During this time in Monticello, he was active in community affairs and served at various times on the City Council, as chairman of the Community Development Program, and as Water Master over the South Creek drainage.
Arlow was active in the LDS Church, serving in a number of ward and stake positions. In his later years, he served in the Monticello temple and served two more missions – one to Oklahoma with his second wife, Norma, and one to the Indian Reservation in New Mexico with his third wife, Sue.
Dad remained physically active throughout his adult life. He loved gardening and always grew a big garden, and he was good at it (although, as they recall, the kids did most of the manual labor).
Likewise, he loved fishing and deer hunting. He especially liked fishing for Stripers at Lake Powell and continued to do that into his 90s. He took up ice fishing at an age when most men have retired to their rocking chairs, and he loved it – now he could fish year round!
He also continued to get his deer hunting tag each year, well into his 80s. When, as he got older, the kids suggested that he hunt in the flat lands, he refused, stating, “We have always hunted on the slopes beneath the TV Towers.”
He saw no reason to change, and he didn’t. He loved the Blue Mountains and would walk up the road leading to the Blues every morning until he began to slow down in his 90s.
Life was good, but it was not all roses. On April 12, 1988 Emma died from illness associated with her ten-year battle with breast cancer.
On March 25, 1989, Arlow, upon realizing that a new golden lab puppy wasn’t providing adequate companionship, sought out, courted, and married Norma Dalby, an old girlfriend from his Kimberly High School days.
Unfortunately, Norma contracted Alzheimer’s disease and died May 4, 2006, but not before she had introduced Arlow to a world of music and culture.
Arlow continued to work in the temple where he met Sue Lantz, a diminutive fireball, who had moved to Monticello for the primary purpose of working in the temple.
They married on April 14, 2007. They had eleven wonderful years together.
A quote from a friend telling an “Arlow story” sums his life up well – “He made everyone around him want to be a better person.”
Arlow is survived by his wife Sue; brother Perry; sister Camilla; and five children, Blen, Kerry, Deborah, Alan, and Reed. He is also survived by 21 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren.