Justin Gerald Pugmire 1892-1949
2010
Justin Gerald Pugmire was born to Justin Pugmire and Hannah Elizabeth Winterbottom in Fish Haven, Bear Lake County, Idaho. He was the oldest child and son of 13 children born to his parents. In 1912 he married Clara Lzina Barker who was from St. Charles, Idaho. They lived for a time in the Bear Lake Valley before moving to Midvale, Utah. Justin and Clara became the parents of 9 children. Two daughters died upon their births but 7 children lived to adulthood and indeed three children still survive.
Justin was a kind and quiet man according to his children. He was a hard working man who took good care of his homes and properties. His work history began with work in the Steel Mill in Midvale, Utah where he and his brother Thomas lived next door to each other with their families, and after it closed he worked at the Sugar Factory. He spent time as a sheepherder in the mountains and during World War II he worked for the newly formed WPA. He worked for the Utah State Road Commission, keeping the canyons outside of Salt Lake City plowed and accessible during the winter.
Justin was a lifelong democrat. While a democrat Governor was in place all was well. When a republican Governor was elected, Justin and all state workers who were democrats were fired. He then worked for the construction company Linden and Stam. He injured his back during work one day and was not able to return. He died of an unexpected heart attack at the young age of 57 while diving across a room to save a baby granddaughter from being burned on a floor furnace. I was the granddaughter. He left behind his widow Clara and a significant posterity to the present day.
Justin’s funeral was in the 29th Ward Chapel on 3rd North and 10th West in Salt Lake City, Utah. His sons carried the furniture out of Justin’s home onto the lawn so that his casket could be brought into the room for friends and family to pay their last respects. Then, the mortuary drove the casket one block to the church. Justin Gerald Pugmire is buried in the Midvale City Cemetery, Midvale, Salt Lake, Utah next to his beloved wife Clara and his two daughters Clara and Fawn.
The migration of Justin Gerald Pugmire
Idaho to Utah