William Edward Chatwin Jr.

William Edward Chatwin Jr., “Ed,” was born in Short Creek, Arizona on November 20, 1941, and passed away on August 1, 2021, in St. George, Utah (at aged 79-1/2). His death was due to respiratory and heart failure from diabetes (and diabetic legs). He was the first-born child of Dorothy Mae Wyler and William Edward Chatwin Sr.

At age 4, Ed lost his father to a heart attack, and the state of Utah removed him and his younger siblings, Leora and Marvin, from the care of their mother, (through no fault of her own). The 3 children were then adopted and raised by their Great Uncle Henry Wyler and his wife Elberta Chatwin, (Ed’s older half-sister). Through this adoption, Ed gained a big brother, Charles Wyler, whom had a great influence on him.

Ed attended elementary school in Payson, Utah. He spent his childhood working hard to take care of many chickens and scrub eggs, before and after school. Ed wasn’t fond of it, and so stayed away from farming the rest of his life.

After his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and throughout his high school years, Ed (by his choice) delivered newspapers. He had to get up at 4 a.m. each morning, rain or shine, to do it. Ed graduated from Jordan High, and then did well, scholastically, while attending the Univ. of Utah.

At aged 19, Ed met his wife, Linda Hurst, while at a roller-skating rink. They quickly fell in love: and when she was aged 17, they married on August 26, 1961, in Salt Lake. Ed supported his family by being a salesman at Sears for almost two decades.

On June 20, 1969, Ed entered into a plural marriage with Linda’s younger sister, Suellen Hurst. Together, Ed and his two wives had nineteen children. They are, by order of birth: Barbara, Marie, William Edward III, Michael, Andrew, Elizabeth, Lydia, Joseph, Katherine, John, LaDonna, Samuel, Rebecca, Hyrum, Lillian, William Edward IV, Daniel, Rulon, and Mary. Ed raised his large family in a large home he built with his own hands, in Holladay, Utah. His brother Marvin (his right-hand buddy) helped him on it too.

In much later years, he developed a love for the computer when it came out—from then on, it would forever entertain and captivate his attention. He also loved learning about technology, gadgets, linguistics in the dictionary, listening to music cassettes and records, and in playing the piano by ear—often (and fondly) permeating music through out our house. We children loved it, except in the early morning hours—he used it as our alarm clock. Ed valiantly taught us children home-school for a year.

We children also loved it when he’d take us to get ice-cream cones often, after picking us up at school. (Ed also volunteered for a year helping to remodel the school.) Ed bought for us (and passed along his love for) motorcycles and go-karts. Too, he instilled in us a belief in always going the extra mile for others, keeping minimal debt and paying them soon, and always being honest. Ed was always generous in sharing food and fun with friends and family. Too, he would arrange group gatherings, and loved taking us for picnics in the mountains. Later, (following his kids’ marriages, and being scattered in distance), he’d always try to gather us for a banquet at a restaurant whenever a portion of us were in town.

When Ed’s health declined, and his legs showed complications as early as aged 50, he traded roles and became a mister-mom. (Too, his wives went to work at the post office for decades after the kids were old enough.)

Ed was admitted to the hospital in St. George, Utah on Sunday, July 18, 2021. We (and he) thought he’d be there a few weeks, recover, and return home. However, he died suddenly, after two weeks of hardness of breath, on Sunday, August 1, 2021.

Ed was preceded in death by three of his sons, William III (1966), William (Edward) IV, (1979), and Joseph (2011).

We truly would like to thank our Uncle Marvin and Aunt Charlette, and their children, for their patience and love in tending to our father’s daily needs since his stroke and his left-arm paralysis in Sept. 2011. The bond between Marvin and him was undeniable (their whole lives) and now only death has separated them. -- One highlight in life of theirs was when they both (along with their wives, and Ed’s daughter Katherine who arranged the trip) got to travel back to the east (USA) coast and follow the Mormon and Colonial trails in the autumn of 1994.

We would like to say a heart-felt “thank-you” to all of the nurses and doctors who cared for our father in his two final weeks of life. We know he greatly appreciated you.

Please join Ed’s family in a “Celebration of Ed’s Life” on Saturday, August 7, 2021, from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. at the Holm Sunday School Building located at 1055 N. Carling Street, in Hildale, Utah.

Burial to follow at 4:00 p.m. at the Isaac Carling Memorial Park Cemetery located at 500 Township Avenue, Colorado City, Arizona.

Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S. Bluff Street St. George, Utah. Family and friends are invited to sign Ed’s online guest book at www.spilsburymortuary.com