Preston "Lonny" Hafen

Veyo, Utah – Preston Lon "Lonny" Hafen was born September 19, 1937, to Preston Ernest Hafen and Vella Ruth Morris Hafen in St. George, Utah. He was their third child and third son. His brother, Morris Kim, passed away as an infant before Lonny was born. He was followed by three precious sisters. Their family consisted of Pres and Vella, Brooks, Kim (deceased), Lonny, Penny, Janet and Ruby.

Lonny grew up in Santa Clara and loved every minute of it. He loved Santa Clara and the Swiss traditions and was always proud to be a 'Dutchman'. Lonny loved working with his dad and brother in their family ventures, from the orchard to cattle to hunting, and possibly causing a little trouble from time to time.

Lonny loved sports and played basketball and football at Woodward, Dixie High School and Dixie College. It was during a seminary class in High School that he met the love of his life, Dorothy Kay Lytle. They made the perfect couple. Lonny and Dorothy were married on August 16, 1957, in Veyo, Utah in the backyard of Dorothy's Aunt Lila's home. Together they left southern Utah and headed to Logan where he attended Utah State University.

Dorothy worked to help put Lonny through school where he earned a master's degree in Geology from Utah State. He also served in the National Guard during this time. Lonny's love of this wonderous world and nature began at an early age and gave him the perfect career path to be out exploring this vast and beautiful world and all the rocks beneath it.

While Lonny and Dorothy were in Logan, their first child was born, a daughter, Kim Natalie. After graduating it was difficult to find a job in the mining industry and so they moved to the Salt Lake area for a few years and Lonny worked at Hercules, doing missile production. It was there that their second daughter, Kailoni, was born. The following year, Lonny and Dorothy were blessed with baby girl number three, Mishaun.

Being a geologist, Lonny took his family to Butte, Montana and he started working down in the mines. It was in Butte that the family found their favorite pastime, waterskiing and boating. It became a lifelong part of the family's entertainment. His real career interests were in exploration and soon he got the opportunity to move his little family of girls to Grants, New Mexico to work for Anaconda Mining and Exploration doing uranium exploration. They lived in company housing at the mine site for about seven years. During this time their last child was born, a boy, Justin Lon. They always said he was born 'just in' time. Lonny purchased his first boat and the family spent much of the summertime camping out at a lake near his projects while Lonny did his exploration during the day and enjoyed the family and lake in the evenings.

Eventually, Lonny took his family to Littleton, Colorado. There he worked for Anaconda, Houston International Minerals and Tenneco Minerals. It was in Littleton that all four of their children completed high school. It became the family's home base. Lonny and Dorothy and the family continued to return to southern Utah for the holidays to spend time with their extended family. Time with family was always important to them.

After Lonny and Dorothy became empty nesters, they also spent a year working for Newmont in Sparks, Nevada before deciding that they wanted to go home to southern Utah's Dixie in 1989. They remodeled Dorothy's parent's home in Veyo and made it their forever home too. Lonny continued to do Geology from Veyo as a consultant. His work took him around the world from Honduras to Mongolia. He loved meeting new people and exploring this beautiful world.

The Church of Jesus Christ also played a big part in Lonny's life. Lonny was a seeker of truth and he found truth, comfort, strength and happiness in the Gospel. He loved being a Bishop in Veyo and enjoyed a lifelong love of learning and service. One of his favorite callings, which he did many times throughout the years, was to work with the young men. He loved coaching their basketball teams, camping and doing scouting activities with them.

Veyo also provided Lonny with the space and the time to pursue another one of his dreams, to plant a fruit orchard. It was a labor of love and that required moving a lot of rocks. At last count there were over 120 fruit trees. He taught his children how to prune and care for his trees. He will be keeping a watchful eye on them from above.

During Lonny and Dorothy's retired years in Veyo, they were able to travel and have many more adventures. For their 50th wedding anniversary, they took their whole family on an amazing Alaskan cruise. Two of their most memorable trips were to Africa and India with Justin's family.

Lonny battled heart and lung problems during the last few years but was able to continue enjoying life until his last few weeks. Lonny passed away peacefully at home on September 30th, surrounded by loved ones.

Lonny is survived by his beautiful, angel wife, Dorothy; their children; Kim and Mark Ahrenholtz, Kailoni and Eric Grothe, Mishaun Hafen, and Justin and John Hurley Hafen. They have 7 grandchildren: Devin (Melissa), Travis (Jamie), Lissa (Santina), Dylon, Hayley (Austin), Karly, and Sydney (Dexter). Their treasures are their 12 great grandchildren: Truett, Francesca, Lennon, Emma, Colt, Rhett, Sofia, Luca, Roczen, Chloe, Juniper and Weston. He is also survived by his brother, Brooks (Darrylin) Hafen; and his sisters: Penny (Gordon) Barben, Janet Dix, and Ruby Heaton. He also leaves behind many dear nieces and nephews as well as cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Kim; and brothers-in-law: Tony Heaton, Dan Dix and Kenneth Jolley. We know his reunion with loved ones will be great and those that are left behind will sorely miss him until they see him again.

A heartfelt thanks to all those very special people who provided care and love for Lonny as he served out his last days on earth.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the Veyo Chapel, 176 East Center Street, Veyo, Utah. Visitations will be held on Friday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 West St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah and Saturday, prior to services, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the church. Interment will follow in the Veyo Cemetery.

Those unable to attend are invited to view the services at the following link: TO BE POSTED.

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