Born: 11 June 1934
Died: 1 July 2018
Donald Sterling Halladay was born on June 11, 1934, the second child of Robert Sterling and Susie Ethel (Armstrong) Halladay. His childhood was, by today’s standards, idyllic. He fished, hunted, hiked, swam and played, building a lifelong love for the outdoors. He also developed a love for reading and literature, which led him to a degree in English Education at the University of Utah.
After his first year at the university, he married Mary Ann Wright in 1954 (later divorced) and they had one son, Kevin. After graduation from the university, he taught in junior high and high schools in Tooele, Dugway and Grantsville. For four years he served as principal at Wendover High School before returning to teaching.
He met Hildi Gottschalk in 1975 and they married in 1977 in the Salt Lake City Temple, bringing two stepchildren, Diana and Clifford, into the family. The people in his life, including his family, friends and students, gave him great joy. He particularly loved all of his extended family in Grantsville and southern Idaho, treasuring his time with all of them. He loved the writings of Henry David Thoreau and shared Thoreau’s love for nature. He spent countless hours exploring the back roads and trails of Utah, Nevada and Idaho. He was also a talented sculptor in clay and loved to sing with his family. He will be missed by all who had the pleasure of coming to know him.
He is preceded in death by his parents, and his older brother, Robert. He is survived by his wife, Hildi; sister-in-law, Patti Halladay; brother, Clare (Karen) Halladay; sister, Marilyn Grant; son, Kevin (Gaile) Halladay; stepdaughter, Diana (Bruce) Shields; stepson, Clifford Gottschalk; and eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
A viewing will be held on Saturday, July 7, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the Bennion 19th Ward, 6250 S. 2200 West, Taylorsville, Utah, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. Interment will be at the Memorial Redwood Cemetery.