St. George, Utah – Gordon Ernest Weinheimer, 89, April 11, 2020, The Meadows, St. George. He was born June 20, 1930, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was the 6 ^th of 7 children born to Jacob Weinheimer and Wilhelmina Boos. His siblings are Eric Hans Weinheimer, Herbert Alfred Weinheimer, Doris Weinheimer, Ruth Ellen Weinheimer, Gerald Weinheimer, and Edith Louise Weinheimer. Doris Weinheimer Salmon and Gerald Weinheimer are still living. He went to school and grew up in Calgary and Welling, Alberta. He was close to his Wilde cousins, because they also lived in Welling. In school, Gordon excelled in arithmetic, skills learned which he would use throughout in his life. He worked on the family farm in Welling. Gordon enjoyed telling and showing his children how backbreaking thinning sugar beets had been. He helped tend sheep, horses and pigs. He also told the story of walking to and from school uphill both ways in the snow and the occasional chance to ride a horse to school.

Gordon and his brothers each delayed University enrollment in order to help support their other brothers serving missions around the world, taking turns before continuing with life plans. He was called to the West German Mission where he served and taught with faith and conviction. He said to his son Keith during a brief interview in December of 2016 about his mission:

I got on the SS United States at around noon this one day. I wanted to be sure to see the statue of Liberty. Well, they called us to lunch, went down and ate and when we came back up it was just a speck in the horizon. It only took us four and a half days to cross the Atlantic. We landed in Le Havre, France, and then we went on to Paris. We had a tour of Paris for almost a whole day. It was quite a sight. I served in West Germany, like I said, for two and a half years. I had to learn the language from books and from companions. It took me probably five and half months before I gave my first cottage meeting. I heard that the first person I talked to eventually came into the church. Which was I would say remarkable. Germany was really hard to proselyte. [Keith asks, "Were you in any areas where Elder Uchtdorf was?"] Yes, I was. He was converted, I think, in a town near Frankfurt. … [Keith asks, "Anything else you want to tell Kirsten?"] All I can say, Kirsten, missionary work is really a wonderful job, but it takes very much hard work and dedication to accomplish what the Lord would have us do. And I pray that he will bless you that you will have a good successful mission. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. (Transcribed from video taken by his son, Keith)

On the way back to Canada from his mission, Gordon stopped in The Netherlands. It was there he bought the diamond for his future bride's engagement ring. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo after his mission. He worked in the Cannon Center Cafeteria. He had a number of roommates in college. He told some pretty interesting stories about his roommates including one roommate who was famous for cooking toast to a charcoal black and then scraping it off to golden brown and eating it anyway. He graduated in agronomy. He married Nancy Ellen Folsom in the Salt Lake Temple on June 7, 1961. They met because his sister, Ruth, married Nancy's brother, Marvin.

After marriage, Gordon and Nancy lived first in Calgary, Canada, for a short time and then in Moses Lake, WA. In 1963, they moved to South Florida for Gordon to work for the United States Sugar Corporation in their research department in Clewiston, FL. He worked there until he retired. Sometimes, he would take a child with him on the weekends when he had to water the sugarcane. They lived there for 30 years, except for a short time in Belle Glade to begin with. Along the way, they were blessed with 5 children. The church in Florida was small and struggling so they spent much of their time serving and supporting the church there. They missed their extended family very much and so every few years, they would pack up the station wagon and drive to Utah to visit family.

Gordon's interests included his church, his family, gardening, armchair sports, BYU fan, and temple service. Gordon enjoyed keeping accurate records for, work, church and family. He served as a clerk and branch president in the Belle Glade, Florida Branch of the church for many years. When Miami and Ft. Lauderdale were still part of the Stake which included the Belle Glade Branch, Gordon served as a high councilor; the meetings were in Ft. Lauderdale. He told us a story of driving on Highway 27 home from Ft. Lauderdale one night. There was a big bump; he stopped the car to see what it was. It was a very large alligator! After investigating, it appeared to dead. He hauled it out of the way and continued home. He also often took one of his children with him when he spoke as a high councilor in Naples, Port Charlotte and other places. Later, in Ivins he again served as ward clerk.

Gordon loved to talk about BYU sports to anyone. He followed BYU men's and women's sports by watching TV, listening on the radio, and reading the paper. He would throw the football or baseball with his kids in the backyard. He planted shrubs, palm trees, banana trees, citrus trees, a sycamore tree, and an oak tree in the yard. The sycamore tree became the home to a tree house he helped build. One year a palm tree planted near a corner of the house was struck by lightning. Everyone was okay, but the TV and ceiling fan were fried and the tree was dead.

In 1993, when Gordon retired, Gordon and Nancy moved to Ivins, UT. Merrill and his family were there, and Gordon enjoyed being near them. He also commented that he enjoyed the weather there. He planted a garden every year which always produced more vegetables than he and his wife Nancy could eat. He loved to share with neighbors and friends. He also planted fruit trees of apricots, peaches and apples and shared their bounty with all. He and Nancy took a couple of significant trips in their retirement, other than the many trips to visit their children and grandchildren for various occasions and reunions. They traveled to England and also took a cruise to Alaska. From May 1996 to Oct. 1997, Gordon and Nancy served a temple mission to the Toronto Canada temple. After this mission, they both served in the St. George Temple until 2011.

In a video-conference on April 7 ^th , Gordon commented that back then your handshake was your word. He also felt like the depression taught everyone to learn the value of money. His last advice to his children in the video conference, "Hang in there and follow the prophet."

Gordon is survived by his children: Jeana Weinheimer Allen (Eric Allen), Lakeland, FL; Beth Ann Weinheimer Erickson (Jonathan Erickson), Parker, CO; Merrill Gordon Weinheimer (Carrie Phillips Weinheimer), Belton, MO, and Lehi, UT; Craig Burton Weinheimer (Tiffany Peterson Weinheimer), Eagle Mountain, UT; Keith Dallin Weinheimer (Misty Barney Weinheimer), Mount Juliet, TN. His grandchildren include: Heidi Allen Heath, Melissa Allen; Sage Erickson Allen, Adam Erickson, Nathan Erickson, Brooke Erickson; Jade Weinheimer, Seth Weinheimer, Tanner Weinheimer, Aaron Weinheimer, Ryan Weinheimer, Abby Weinheimer; Brayden Weinheimer, Alyssa Weinheimer, Collin Weinheimer; Sean Weinheimer, and Kirsten Weinheimer. The cute great-grandchildren are: Jordan Heath; Luke and Hazel Allen, Lacey and Hannah Erickson; Evalynn Weinheimer.