Emer Koyle Winward came into this world feet first on January 16, 1936. From his birth, Emer’s feet hit the ground where he quickly grew into his size 14 shoes, which remained firmly planted in this world until he passed peacefully in his bed, with his wife of 62 years, Karma Winward, lying at his side, on January 27, 2024.
His childhood was spent in windswept and desolate southern Idaho. Emer attended BYU initially on a football scholarship. After having served a LDS mission in New Mexico, Colorado, and Nebraska, he returned to the Y to complete a degree in history. After graduating, he returned to southern Idaho, taking a job as a history teacher at Minodoka County High, where he met Karma Hatch, the new home economics teacher who needed a big, strong history teacher to open the stubborn windows in her classroom. Emer and Karma were married June 7, 1961, in the Logan Temple,
Emer and Karma are the parents of six children and gave each child the expectation that they would leave home to start their own family with the same commitment they themselves modeled, making them proud parents of six couples: Kent and JulieAnn, Karyn and Chris (Allen), Tom and Kim, Matt and Amber, David and Sarah, Bart and Jennie. From these six couples, Emer and Karma have 22 grandchildren and 7 and 8/9ths great grandchildren.
After graduating with a Master Degree in Education from Utah State, Emer took a job teaching sixth grade at Fremont Elementary in Sunset Utah. Beginning in 1976, he began his 22-year career as Principal at Fremont, Vae View, Whitesides, and South Weber Elementaries for the Davis County School District. Thousands of students have benefitted from his commitment to educating children.
Emer was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His was a faith grounded in serving others. Emer and Karma went on three missions during Emer’s retirement, two to the Washington DC temple, and the other to Cowpens, South Carolina. To honor that faith, the family would ask that in lieu of flowers to please make a donation to a charity of your choice.
Funeral services will be held Saturday February 3, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at the Kaysville 13th Ward Chapel, 875 East 200 North, Kaysville, Utah. Friends may visit with family Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Kaysville Mortuary, 400 N. Main Street, Kaysville, Utah and Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church. Interment will be held at the Kaysville Cemetery at 12:30 p.m.
The funeral service will be live-streamed and may be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of Emer’s obituary page at www.lindquistmortuary.com
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