52 Ancestors #3 Wilford Guy Lunn

Wilford Guy Lunn is the grandfather I never had the opportunity to know.  He passed away when my mother was only eight years old.

Standing:  Rex, Gary, Clarice & Guy
Seated:  David, Rhoda & Elwood

Guy was born August 4, 1903 to David and Rhoda Ann Morgan Lunn.  The family was living in the area of Salt Lake City known as Millcreek.  He was the fifth child and the third son.  His older siblings include:  David Gerald, known as Gary; Rhoda Clarice, known as Clarice; Rex Morgan; and, Viola Albertha, who passed away before Guy was born.  A younger brother, Elwood would join the family in 1905.

The family lived on what is now 3300 South just above Highland Drive.  Mom remembers a large chicken coop at the back of the property and an orchard.

Boyd & Iris at 8th East home

Since I do not have any additional information on the early years of Guy's life, I will jump to his marriage and family.  On August 6, 1925, Guy Lunn and Edna Virginia Sparks were married in Manti, Sanpete, Utah.

The couple welcomed two children, Boyd R Lunn and Iris Hilda Lunn.  The young family moved to the Lunn farm in Salt Lake County.  The farm included a fish hatchery where city folk could come to fish and enjoy a rural setting and fishermen who had been skunked could stop on the way home to"catch" dinner.  The Lunn family also raised Clydesdale horses.

I found an advertisement placed in the Salt Lake Tribune during the summer of 1932 for the Lunn's farm under the name of Clear View Fishing Farm.  The ad read:

"Go Trout Fishing

Tackle furnished, no license required, legal size 10 cents each; place to eat your lunch and for children to learn how to fish.  Your evening, drv 9th E or Highland Dr.

Clear View Fishing Farm

56th So bet. 9th E and Highland Dr.

For information, Holladay 87-J-2"

Gary with two Clydesdales

Guy was in business with his brother Gary.  In addition to the farm, they had a hotel in downtown Salt Lake.  There was a café, G & G Café, in the hotel.  The café menu featured fresh-caught rainbow trout from hatchery.

When Boyd started school, his mother discovered the school was quite a distance from the farm.  She decided it was time to move to the city for the safety of the children.  Their first home was on 8th East near Virginia's Aunt Hannah.  They soon moved to a home on McClelland Street.

Each summer the family would spend two weeks at a cabin at Fish Lake.  Fish Lake has been a popular fishing spot for generations of Utahns. An avid fisherman, Guy enjoyed getting up early to go after the large lake trout which drew anglers from the West to Fish Lake.

Mom remembers that her father would rent two motor boats each summer so there would be one for the adults for fishing and one for the younger set to explore.  Two of her cousins were included in these outings which created lasting memories.  One summer, the actor Wallace Berry was spending time at Fish Lake during the Lunns' annual visit.  The cousins followed Mr. Berry and his female companion around the lake for an afternoon.

My mother has additional memories of Sunday rides with her family and her Lunn grandparents.  Sunday dress was mandatory for these occasions even if the destination was in the nearby canyons.

Guy also enjoyed hunting.  In the fall of 1934, he went on a hunting trip in the Utah mountains where he was kicked in the leg by a horse.  This injured turned into a carcinoma.  For a reason not known to his family, he refused to have his leg amputated.  He passed away May 5, 1935.

In later research I discovered his uncle, William Gordon, has passed away from complications following a leg amputation.  I have wondered if that memory influenced his decision.

The notice of his death in the Salt Lake Tribune on May 6, 1935, read: "Complications resulting from injuries last fall when he was kicked by a horse while on a hunting trip, were fatal to Wilford Guy Lunn, 31, who died Sunday at 10:15 a.m. in a local hospital.

Mr. Lunn had been in a serious condition at the hospital several weeks prior to his death.

A son of David and Rhoda A. Lunn, Mr. Lunn was born in Salt lake City, August 4, 1903.  He was the husband of Mrs. Virginia Sparks Lunn.

Surviving are his widow, his mother, two children, Iris and Boyd Lunn; three brothers, Gary, Rex and Elwood Lunn, and a sister, Mrs. Clarice L. Waller, all of Salt Lake City."