Richard George Lovell

With heavy hearts, the family of Richard Lovell announce his passing in Payson, Utah, on May 29, 2025. He was born to Ray W. and Florence Lindsay Lovell on July 5, 1947, in Provo, Utah. This was a birthday he shared with his younger sister Joyce.

Thanks to his friend Ron Liston, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Whenever Ron was working on a merit badge, he lassoed Rich to work together on their badges.

He graduated as a “Mighty Red Devil” from Springville High School in 1966, where he loved his good friends and playing football.

He served in the Vietnam War in the United States Army. He completed basic training at Fort Ord and received advanced communication training in Texas and Georgia. He was a lineman and antenna man, which involved climbing 400-foot towers even in the winter.

He built a great work ethic with his various jobs he had throughout his life. He worked for a time at the Grand Canyon, his Idaho uncles’ farms, and for W. W. Clyde. He then began working for US Steel Geneva, where he was known as the “Mountain Man.” He would sometimes take his freshly caught fish and throw them over the hot cover crane for lunch, making his colleagues mouths water.

He married Shari Howe; children Jodi and Jason. They later divorced. He then married Sarah Willene McEntire Allred; son Jake, in Payson, Utah. She preceded him in death. Together they turned their property into a garden of Eden, planting more than a hundred trees and also creating a koi pond, including a delightful waterfall. As a great uncle and aunt, they even hosted a stellar family reunion fish fry with their bounty of fresh caught fish. He has a drawer full of their nieces’ and nephews’ Christmas cards. Their love warmed his heart.

He enjoyed the outdoors, especially deer hunting and fishing, including the big ones in Mexico. He was a good friend, loved by many at the coffee shop and local diners. Not much for winter, he enjoyed going to Arizona when the snow started to fall.

Survived by sister-in-law Lois Lovell; brother Byron (Cynthia) Lovell; sister Joan (Randy) Shaw; sister Joyce (Greg) Karren; brother Keith (Gini) Lovell; and sister Ann Johnson. Preceded in death by brother David and brothers-in-law John Kormylo and Jeff Johnson.

Funeral services will be held Monday, June 2, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the Spring Lake LDS Church, 12625 South Spring Lake Rd. Payson, Utah. Viewing will be Sunday June 1st from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Brown Family Mortuary, 66 S. 300 E. and Monday from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. at the church prior to services. Interment with Military Honors to follow at Santaquin Cemetery.