What Makes A Dad

This was read at the funeral by Diane~

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of an eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in Spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need.

The[n] God combined these qualities.

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so He called it Dad.

The Interment

The Interment was in the Salt Lake City Cemetery on Saturday, June 11 at 11:00am.  It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining.  We were at the top of a hill and had quite the view of the valley.  The site is right next to Granny and Granddaddy Pratt's grave.

It was nice to gather together again as a family, with 2 more grand children coming, as well as more great grand children that were not able to make the funeral in Colorado.  We were glad to see several friends that came to offer support as well.  It was a lovely service.  We were happy that the flowers had survived the trip over in the heat and looked pretty sitting nearby.

The service began with the pallbearers going up the hill to take their places on either side of the casket.  As they carried the casket to graveside, they were led by a bag piper playing.....Del really appreicated his Scottish heritage.  As they reached the tent and placed the casket onto the stand, the bag piper continued down the hill, his music trailing behind him.  There is special signifigance to the way the bagpiper played.....it is entitled, "The Soul of the Departed Scot", and it goes like this........

The spirit of a Highlander remains with the body until he is satisfied

that all the traditions have been observed.  As the casket is carried to

the place of internment, a piper will play a lament, releasing the spirit

from the body.  When the spirit of the departed is satisfied, he departs

into paradise.  The piper then strikes up a sprightly march and marches

away, satisfied another Scot has been piped to his just reward."

Eileen, Lloyd's wife, sang "Be Still My Soul", Neil read the eulogy and Lloyd dedicated the grave.  The Navy took over the service with the playing of Taps and folding the flag.  The flag was then gently placed in Geniel's hands.  It was a very moving part of the service.  "Oh, Danny Boy" was then played on the bag pipes at the request of Geniel...she has always liked that song.

At the end of the service, each grand child was able to walk by the casket and place a flower on top in remembrance.

The family lingered near by after all had left, just visiting. 

Then we headed over to Marie Cornwall's house for lunch.  She was sweet enough to feed us all that day.  Thank you so much for doing that for us.  After lunch, we returned to the cemetery to see the beautiful flowers placed on the grave.

The Viewing and Funeral

The funeral was held on Wednesday, June 8th at 12:15 pm in the Black Forest LDS Chapel in Colorado Springs.  A viewing was held immediately before at 11:00am.  The immediate family arrived early to make sure all was in place.  The display was set up with many pictures and a video was playing for all to watch. 

The flowers arrived and were beautiful in their bright and vibrant colors. 

The flag was draped perfectly over the beautiful casket and Del was all dressed in white....everything looked so nice.

Many family members arrived and visited as well as many friends.  We were all so thankful to those that came to support our family at this most difficult time.  Of the 25 grand children of Del and Geniel, 22 were able to make the trip to Colorado for the funeral.  There are 43 great grand children and about half were there in attendance.  Isn't that fantastic?! 

As the funeral time neared, the family was able to say our last goodbye's.  Karl gave the family prayer and did a wonderful job.  The oldest grand sons in each family were the Pallbearers and they did what they could do through the narrow doors and hallways of the church.  The chapel was full and the service was beautiful.

Bishop Sterling Rogers conducted the service which was opened with the hymn, "Oh My Father".  Marcia's husband, Richard King, gave the invocation after which Neil gave the eulogy.  Del had written the eulogy before he passed away as well as part of the service.  Then Diane, Lloyd, Marcia, and Karl told of memories of their father.  A musical number followed with a group of ladies singing that were friends of Del and Geniel.  Patriarch Ned Mangelson, Del's brother-in-law, spoke to the congregation with closing remarks by Bishop Rogers and President Brent Ashby, from the Stake Presidency.  The closing hymn was "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" with the benediction offered by Diane's husband, Tom Ballard.  The casket was then wheeled out and on to the sidewalk where the grand sons took their places and carried their granddaddy to the waiting hearse as the many family members gathered around.  We all watched until the hearse was out of sight.  We visited for quite some time, greeting friends as they exited the church building. The Interment will be in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday.

Afterwards, we all went into the cultural hall where a delicious lunch was waiting for us, prepared by the Relief Society.  It was a wonderful meal and we all enjoyed the time that we had together that day.  Many pictures were taken of all that were there as you can tell from the following.  We were all so grateful to be with each other to remember a wonderful husband, father, father-in-law, brother-in-law, granddaddy, and  great granddaddy....we will miss you.

Geniel with her children

Geniel with Alene

 Diane's family

 Marcia's family

 Lloyd's family

 Neil's family

Karl's family

 Ned and Alene Mangelson

 The handsome grand sons

the gorgeous grand daughters

Obituary of a Wonderful Man!

Delos Ray McAllister Jr.

May 21, 1924-June 2, 2011

Del was born 21 May 1924 in Kanab, Kane County, Utah to Delos Ray McAllister, Sr. and Ethel Carpenter McAllister, joining older sister Betty and Jaclyn.  He grew up on a four-acre lot in the Salt Lake area.  That lot provided experience in gardening and in taking care of cows, pigs, lambs, rabbits, ducks, pigeons, chickens, dogs and cats.

Del attended Granite High School and the University of Utah and earned a Master's Degree at Stanford University.  WWII interrupted his undergraduate years as he served as an electronic electrician for radars, radio, sonar, loran, and counter measures equipment on a Navy destroyer.  His destroyer squadron lead the invasion fleet into Tokyo Bay and was anchored where he could watch the Battleship Missouri while he listened to the Japanese surrender ceremonies on the radio from that ship.

Del's first two years after completing school were spent as an instructor on the U of U Electrical Engineering Department staff (1949-1951).  He then joined an electronic research and development company in Culver City, California.

Del retired on June 1, 1989, having served in administration for 38 years developing and supervising the various testing programs on guided missiles, military satellites, long range air defense radars, and battlefield communications and navigation systems.  He also developed a payload testing laboratory for the SURVEYOR moon landing vehicle, the first space craft to make a soft landing on the moon.

Del met Geniel Pratt at the U of U during leave between his electronics training and sea duty during World War II.  They met in her Chemistry Laboratory class while at the university and there was an immediate chemistry between the two of them.  They exchanged letters and met again on another leave when he returned from Japan, and were married two years later in the Salt Lake Temple, prior to their senior year at college.  They graduated together from the University of Utah.

Del and Geniel have five children, all with temple marriages, and also 25 grandchildren and 43 great-grandchildren.

Their daughter, Diane (and Tom Ballard), a secretary at the U of U, lives in South Jordan Utah.  They have eight children.  Marcia (and Richard King) is a Registered Nurse and a nursing teacher living in Pueblo, Colorado.  They have five children.  Both girls have BS degrees.  Lloyd and Neil earned Doctorates in Optometry after serving their two year missions and getting their BS degrees.  Karl is working with his brothers as an Office Manager.  He also served five years as Bishop in Pueblo, Colorado.  They each have four children.  Lloyd (Eileen), Neil (Charlyn), and Karl (Melanie) all live in Colorado Springs.

Del's priorities were first the family, and church, then came hobbies, social groups, travel, etc.  Church callings have always been a major part of his life.  Del and Geniel served a senior mission in Dallas, Texas.  Del has had Boy Scout leadership jobs for 20 years of his adult life.  He, three sons, and several grandsons are Eagle Scouts.  He has had most church callings that men get, including five years as a Bishop in Placentia, California.  He also served 20 years as a temple ordinance worker, 10 years as a sealer and three years in the temple presidency.