Earl Smith Spafford

Earl Smith Spafford
12/31/1926 ~ 1/13/2013
Earl S. Spafford, 86, passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 13, 2013. This fine gentleman carried several titles in his life, including loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, loyal friend, founder, business partner, spiritual mentor, medical corpsman, attorney and entrepreneur. He was truly one of the last of his breed.
Earl was born to Willis Earl Spafford and Belle S. Spafford on December 31, 1926. He married his sweetheart Iris Montague in the Salt Lake Temple on September 2, 1949 after he returned from his LDS Mission. Earl served from 1947 - 1949 in the New England States Mission under President S. Dilworth Young. Earl frequently shared his deep and abiding love of the gospel.
As a young man Earl served as a Navy Medical Corpsmen. He received an Honorable Discharge as Pharmacist 2, serving in the South Pacific, and rendering medical care to the Marines. As the war ended, he found himself in the harbor of Tsingtao, China, contiguous to the yellow sea. Earl wrote that chills ran down his spine as he observed the Japanese surrender their arms in China.
Earl attended Law School at the University of Utah and was an editor of the University of Utah Law Review. He served on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Committee to submit a report on riots at the Utah State Prison. Earl went on to practice law for 42 years representing clients from every station in life. He was generous with his pro bono work and has remained friends with many of his clients. Earl helped design the Indian Adoption Program while working with his mother, Belle S. Spafford, while she was the General President of the Relief Society. He also worked with the Relief Society to help develop the program to assist unwed mothers. As his three sons matured he spent the next 21 years in the Scouting program as Scoutmaster and later as an Administrator. During his tenure as Scoutmaster, 31 members of his troop became Eagle Scouts. Earl received the Silver Beaver in 1978.
After Earl retired he served an LDS mission with his wife at the Joseph Smith Building and in the Family History Library for several years. While Earl was at the Family History Center he was a volunteer for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Earl also had the opportunity to serve as an Assistant Chaplain at the VA Hospital. He has often said how much he enjoyed sharing the gospel and helping others.
Earl is survived by his loving wife of 64 years and his five children: Janet Wilson (Del), Robert Spafford (Debbie), Lynn Spafford, Alan Spafford (Dorothea) and JoAnn Buck (David). In addition he is survived by 10 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Earl is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Mary Spafford Kemp.
A viewing will be held on Thursday, January 17th at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Services will be conducted on Friday, January 18th at the Little Cottonwood 1st Ward located at 6350 S. Rodeo Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. On Friday there will be a viewing from 12:00 - 12:45. The services will commence at 1:00 p.m. following the viewing. This information is also posted on the Larkin web site: larkinmortuary.com.