‘He lived a full, bold American life:’ Family, friends gather to honor Huntsman Sr. at funeral - East Idaho News
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‘He lived a full, bold American life:’ Family, friends gather to honor Huntsman Sr. at funeral

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SALT LAKE CITY — Beyond his business successes and even his generosity, Paul Huntsman looked to a crowd that filled nearly half of the lower bowl of the 15,000-seat Huntsman Center and noted that was an example of the impact his father, Jon Huntsman Sr., had on others.

“His greatest tribute was not his business success and I’d argue that it’s not even his philanthropic impact,” Paul Huntsman said. “The reason why so many of us are here to honor him is because of the impact that he had on each of our personal lives. All of us — not just my siblings and his grandchildren who are seated here — felt a very personal connection with Jon.”

KSL.com reported Huntsman Sr., who died at the age of 80 on Feb. 2, was remembered for his love for his family, his faith, generosity and his love for helping others more than for his business accolades — successes that propelled him from growing up poor in Blackfoot, Idaho to a billionaire by his death — at a funeral service held on the court bearing his name Saturday morning.

His children shared stories of his caring nature as a father, his love for music and even of his joyful, humorous side.

“The role of father was the role that meant most to him,” said Jennifer Huntsman Parkin. As she reflected on various lessons she learned from her father, she turned to memories from the past eight years, when she became neighbors with her parents.

She recalled times where she’d see Huntsman Sr. walking around the neighborhood for exercise listening to Elvis Presley before knocking on her family’s door.

“My dad would be standing there with a spoon in his hand, asking if we had any chocolate ice cream,” she said, garnering a chuckle from those in attendance. “This was followed with a mischievous smile and a ‘don’t tell your mother.’”

James Huntsman reflected that his father always went “big” from his business success to his donations to higher education, hospitals and other charities. He then mentioned a prank Huntsman Sr. had pulled off on one of James Huntsman’s high school friends once.

Huntsman Sr. apparently had spray-painted E-L-V-I-S on the driver’s side of the friend’s car. The friend eventually drove around the car anyway as a badge of honor.

“To this day, I never understood why my father did this but to a young teenager, I thought it was pretty cool and pretty unexpected, and a small example of going big — even when you’re pranking somebody,” James Huntsman remarked.

Each of Huntsman Sr.’s children who spoke — seven of his eight children he is survived by — expressed gratitude for their father’s willingness to be there for them, even leaving hand-written notes to them in his final days.

Of his public life, Huntsman Sr.’s hardworking spirit and ability to achieve greatness was a common thread of the service.

While he had successes in his chemical product business, Huntsman Corporation, his son, Peter Huntsman, current president and CEO of the company, said little of that came from a knowledge of science; rather, it came from his ambition and understanding of others.

“It is ironic that this man knew so little about molecular chemistry but so ably capitalized on his God-given talent and his knowledge of human chemistry,” Peter Huntsman said.

Jon Huntsman Jr., ambassador of the United States to Russia and former Utah governor, credited Huntsman Sr.’s “human touch” for his successes in life. That touch, Huntsman Jr. said, came from the small western town childhood Huntsman Sr. lived but with the drive of anyone on Wall Street.

“I have to say words almost seem cheap at a time like this because Dad’s legacy was so darn impactful. He was a man of action, he was a man of results. He lived a full, bold American life,” Huntsman Jr. said. “Dad had courage, he had grit and he had a generous heart right up to the end.”

While Huntsman Sr.’s business success garnered him wealth, his generosity for others was never lost.

Huntsman Sr. donated approximately $1.4 billion to various entities throughout his life, including to the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute — Huntsman himself was a four-time cancer survivor — and to other charities across Utah and elsewhere.

In 2013, Forbes magazine listed him at No. 22 on its list of “50 Philanthropists Who Have Given Away the Most Money.”

“Oftentimes, our biggest struggle was trying to make money as fast as he was giving it away,” Peter Huntsman said, as he began to push away tears. “This university at which we gather is one of the hundreds of organizations, and tens of thousands of individuals — most of whom will never know about — that were recipients of his character. His corporate success was nothing more than a means to an end.”

The Huntsman Foundation, Peter Huntsman added, will allow Huntsman Sr. and his wife, Karen, to help others for generations to come.

A man of faith

Huntsman’s impact transcended various aspects of life. A noted man of faith, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson, who presided over the service, and President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, told stories of Huntsman’s religious magnitude.

Huntsman Sr. served as an Area Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1996 to 2011. He also served as a mission president in Washington, D.C.

“I don’t know of a better eulogy that can ever be paid to a man than to have his living children stand and bear testimony as they have done,” President Nelson said, before reading from a letter from the LDS Church’s First Presidency addressed to the Huntsman family.

President Ballard noted that he and Huntsman Sr. were close friends. They had prayed together in many places across the world, even giving him priesthood blessings over business, family and health over the years.

“I have pushed him down the hallways (of a hospital) in a wheelchair after surgery and he has pushed me down the hallways,” President Ballard said. “We have shared moments of good and wonderful news and we’ve shared some sad, difficult news with one another. Being the bearer of some of those experiences have been one of the treasures of my life, to be that close to this wonderful friend of mine.”

Afterward, President Ballard held Huntsman Sr.’s personal copy of The Book of Mormon, remarking of the notes he left behind within the text. He added he was certain Huntsman Sr. was resting comfortably in the afterlife.

A basketball fan

Huntsman was also an avid sports fan and a frequent attendee of college and professional basketball games. He was known to mention that he scored one point for the University of Pennsylvania basketball team in his own hoops career.

In addition to the Huntsman Center, his name is on the adjacent Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Facility, which opened in 2015.

“Only Dad could have made a basketball court his final play in life,” Huntsman Jr. said, with a chuckle. “For someone who only made one point — as he used to tell us — one point in his entire college basketball career, this is one heck of a way to end the game.”

The entire University of Utah men’s basketball team attended Saturday’s service, along with university president David Pershing and athletic director Chris Hill. After the service concluded, members of the basketball team helped carry donated flowers from the arena.

In speaking with members of the media Thursday, Utah basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak described Huntsman as “a person that I want to be like — I think a lot of us want to be like, in terms of how he was humble and was an unbelievable businessman and driven.”

Concluding service

Elder Ronald Rasband of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offered the benediction to conclude the service.

The American Festival Chorus, which sang opening and closing hymns during the service, performed a touching rendition of the hymn “Because I Have Been Given Much” as Huntsman’s casket was wheeled away.

A private graveside service was held at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Millcreek Saturday afternoon.

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