Donald Michael Dalton

Donald “Mike” Dalton, 80, died in Rocky Mountain Care Center in Clearfield, Utah on May 29, 2024. He was born on June 13, 1943, in Cedar City, Utah, to his parents Cuella Sherratt and Donald A. Dalton. He lived in Layton, Utah.

He was a part of the U.S. Air Force for many years, copying after his father, serving his country during the Vietnam War all the way to Desert Storm. He earned the rank of Colonel during the Gulf War. His military service took him all around the country and world, eventually settling in Hill Air Force Base in Layton, Utah.

Mike graduated from BYU along with his late wife, Kathie Lee Johnson Dalton, in 1966. He got a degree in political science through hard work and dedication. This was also when he joined the Air Force. He married Kathie on September 5, 1964 in the Los Angeles Temple and they remained married until her passing.

As a part of the LDS church, he served in many priesthood callings, most notably the bishopric and the stake high council. He was very devoted to his faith and had a testimony in Jesus Christ.

As a child he enjoyed collecting comic books, making model navy ships, air planes, and spaceships. He also played lots of board games, fished with friends, bowled, and cooked. His current hobby was watching crime shows. He was also a devoted caregiver to family members

in need.

He is survived by his children: Tony, Sheila, James and Richard (Donna), grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings: Carl, Jennifer Christine, and Laura.

He is preceded in death by his wife, his parents, his son Robert, and his first grandchild Rodger.

We love him very much and he will be deeply missed. We respect his service for our country, his church, and his community.

Funeral services will be held Friday June 21, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.  Friends and family may visit Thursday June 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 11:30 to 12:45 p.m. at the mortuary prior to the service.

The funeral service will be livestreamed and may be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of Donald’s obituary page at www.lindquistmortuary.com.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY entries of Donald Michael Dalton included in the 1989 and 2003 editions of the Dalton Family History books. 

I was an Air force brat 20 years, traveling the world with my father and mother who made the Air Force their life.

 At the age of 15 I decided to get an engineering degree and a commission as an officer in the United States Air Force (USAF) and become a pilot. I didn't want to be just any pilot, I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted my space wings. You will remember that at this time the space program was just beginning to roll. I knew that the Air Force was looking for physically fit people who could fly and were good at math and the sciences. I had my goal. Now I needed a plan to reach it.

In high school I took all the math and science I could handle. I also took Latin and French because they were required to graduate and because there were many USAF bases in France. In those days there were no honors or advanced placement classes. The classes you got were the toughest they could make. I studied hard and got reasonably good grades in math and science. I ran every day and did pull ups and sit ups at rapid count. I was ready. I applied to our Utah Senator for an appointment to the academy. Took the tests and passed almost all of them. I had forgotten that to be successful in life you needed to be able to read and write well. Not only at the high school level but on the college level that required a little more intellect. You aren't born with this intellect. You must learn it. If it weren't for my

mother sitting with me for hours on the couch in the living room drilling me on my reading I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have. I missed the English qualifying point by just two short points. That wasn't the end of the game. I asked my father if I could go to a prep school. He said that he would invest in me for one year. He was a gambler. One year there cost nearly $3500. Translated to 1989 dollars that would be close to $15000.

I entered the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) and continued my preparations. I found that the military life 24 hours per day plus the academics were too much. It felt like prison. I didn't excel in class. In one class in particular, College Algebra, They wondered if I had ever had any math or algebra before, my grades were so poor. I dropped out of prep school after a year and went to Brigham Young University. What a change. Life was not easy but I could handle it better. If I had been a little more faithful, I would have done much better. My goal was still in sight. I joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Reserve officers could fly also and there was a chance that one could become an astronaut. They were taking civilians into the space program.

I worked for the Boeing Catalytic Corporation at Atlas F missile sites in and around Roswell, New Mexico. It was 1962. My family was stationed at Walker AFB. My dad through a church friend got me the job. I made enough as a time keeper to carry me through the full year and then some. It was long hours, but I think I enjoyed it. I did enjoy the car my dad loaned to me to get to and from work. The next January Dad was released from the Air Force and retired in Utah.

That summer the family made a trip to the Los Angeles area and I found work as a bus boy in the Orange Fair Restaurant. Dad left for home shortly but came back again to check out a job lead and left me a 1960 Chevy Corvair to use. I lived with my mother's wonderful cousin the Spencer’s the rest of the summer. It was here I met the girl of my dreams and found that she was going to BYU too. Kathie Johnson was from Fullerton, California and was M-men and Gleaner Representative in the Fullerton Stake. She was on the calling committee to rescue lost souls. Since I worked split shift at the restaurant seven days per week I had not been to church or any of the activities. She called. We went horseback

riding and later found time for one or two dates. She was and is responsible for my social life. Without her there would be none.

Kathie and I went back to school at BYU in September 1963 and continued to go together. She spent three months with the Dalton's in salt Lake City, Utah while doing her student teaching in preparation for teaching certificate and degree.

We had planned on getting married in September 1964. Tragedy struck our family when dad was killed in a plane crash while spraying sagebrush in Rome, Oregon on May 22, 1964. At this second writing of this piece for the Dalton Family History and Genealogy Book, I have lost another member of the family. On May 22, 1989, My first grandson Rodger Owen Dalton died. I will never again schedule anything on that day. Kathie went home to work that summer. I got a job selling Collier's  Encyclopedias. What a job -- walk, walk, walk and then nothing. I did not give up though. My future wife and my mother both thought I could do much better with another job, anything. They were right.

Our wedding was September 5, 1964. Fall found us back in school again, married and happy. On the way back from our wedding we had an accident and totaled the 1960 Corvair my folks had given us for our wedding gift. We were not hurt, just shaken up. We were protected by the spirit. I could feel it strongly as we were rolling and flipping and sliding. We came to find out a little latter the reason why. Kathie was just starting to carry our first child. He must be a real special spirit and a powerful one too. We drove the car back to Salt Lake City wearing swimming goggles for our front windshield and sweatshirts. You learned to keep your mouth shut after a while or you got bugs in your teeth and washed them down with rain and hail. What an adventure. Boy! Ever since every trip we took has been an adventure. Not quite like this one but a real adventure just the same. We parked the 1960 Corvair in mom's garage for over a year before finally selling it for scrap.

We Began our marriage with no car, no money and no house. Just our Love!!

Grandma and Grandpa Sherratt stood in line with mom at our reception and have stood by her through all her loneliness and problems ever since. She now stands by them in their old age 89 in 1989. She devotes three weeks out of four to provide home nursing care in St. George, Utah. She is a Licensed Practical Nurse. She worked hard for two and one half years after dad died to get the degree. She is the best there is.

Uncle Tony my second father and the one that my dad entrusted us to in those family meetings that the boys were prone to have, was killed in a charter plane crash while on his way to a football game in Arizona on November 27, 1965. That was a second shock to the system.

Kathie and I both went back to BYU to get our degrees and thereby improve our chances for a good life. In January 1966 Kathie and I both graduated, a miracle. The English Proficiency Exam almost got me, but I passed it. I graduated in Political Science and Kathie graduated in music education. I was also commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserves and had a reporting date for pilot training and great adventure. We had each other, a son (Robert) and a new car (financed by mom). Kathie and mom were so proud of us all. We had done the almost impossible. Mom had sent us one-third of her income for the time we were at school and my brothers and sisters had sacrificed so much

for me that I owe them a debt I can never repay.

Mother has always been there when we needed help. Baby sitting, a car after the one Uncle Tony gave us fell apart through neglect, housing (she financed our first house), storage depot, shipping master and more recently with rental property. You know, I think she is still there if we ever need her.

Kathie's folks assisted us in February 1966 to make a move to Anaheim, California. Kathie’s father, Tom Johnson, got me a job at the plant he worked at (Electra Motors a Division of Litton Industries in Anaheim). Kathie taught music as a substitute teacher, until May 1966.

 In May 1966 we moved to our first active duty assignment, Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas, where I entered Pilot training. We found a two bedroom rental home in town and settled in for what we expected to be at least a year of the most intensive and demanding training ever. At the end of the year I expected to be a jet pilot with my wings and well on my way to becoming an astronaut. Even though I had not graduated in engineering as planned, I thought, "somehow I will still get there".

I trained as a jet pilot for nearly six months. It was hard. I couldn't hold my dinner and vomited every flight. It is hard to control a jet airplane when you know you are going to get sick. I washed out of pilot training and with the wash out came the end of my dream to become an astronaut. But someone has to launch the rockets and maybe I can get into that side of it. No luck. The air force had just put in service the newest strategic missiles and needed missile launch officers.

They sent me to watch missiles 60 ft. underground for 5 years for the Strategic Air Command. I was then assigned to Whiteman AFB, Missouri in December 1966. While in Missouri our second son Tony was born January 17, 1967. Sheila, our only daughter, was born June 10, 1969. After 4.5 years I finally got my Masters of Business Management degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Once again, the old English bug almost stopped me from getting the degree. In 1971 I was sent to Hill AFB, Utah, 84056 to work in the logistics career field. During our 3 year stay, our twins James Michael and Richard.

Edward were born April 10, 1972. Kathie almost died that day, but thru the power of the priesthood, her life was spared. In June 1974 we were sent to Clark AFB, Republic of the Philippines. We stayed in the Philippines for two years. In June 1976 we were reassigned to Hill AFB, Utah. President Carter there was a reduction in force in the officer corps and became a civilian a year later. I worked for New York Life Insurance company and a real estate firm for a few months and am now in civil service at Hill AFB. I have kept up my reserve commission in the Air Force Reserves and was promoted to Colonel in 1988. Why couldn't they do that on active duty? Life would have been so much easier.

In 1987 I was chosen as District Commissioner for Gateway District of the Boy Scouts of America, and it is one busy job. Volunteer work is tough. Everyone wants to be associated with the organization but when there is work to be done only a few do it. Well, some don't even want to be associated even though their church jobs say they should. Kathie has been the driving force in the Scouting success of our sons. She helped and prodded them all (4) to be Eagle Scouts. That's a 100 percent success rate and a rare accomplishment. Kathie is also the best commissioner that I have ever seen. She resurrected a floundering cub program in Clearfield Stake and put it back on its feet. This required 10 nights per month every month for two years. Kathie is our Pack 303 Cubmaster and District Staff Worker as

well. Kathie has earned the District Award of Merit, Her Wood badge Beads, and her Silver Wolf. And all this while keeping the family taken care of and working full time as a teacher. That's one good woman!!!

Around home I watched over a complete roof replacement on one home and water repair from a tap freeze up which required complete carpet and water system replacement with a paint job on the other. I still am required to pay the house payment and all bills and assessments on the first house we bought on at 283 Church St, Layton, Utah. Luckily, much of the cost is covered by rents collected. Yard work and car repair have been projects.

In 1986 Kathie had a bad auto accident and as a result Robert had a mangled hand and broken neck. Robert has recovered physically and so has Kathie but I think both still vividly remember the incident.

Robert works at the base as a lifeguard. Sheila is 20 now and is going to school. She is a modest girl of modest means. She still has some sleep problems caused by her heart surgery as a baby. She is  beautiful and intelligent. The twins, James and Richard now 17 are growing into fine young men, handsome and intelligent and liked by all.

Kathie has been teaching second grade at South Clearfield Elementary School for the past 11 years. She's now working on her Masters of Education Degree along with her teaching. She is still the choir and congregation director for the Layton 11th ward. She's been in many choirs and musical productions in the community too. She even went to sing in Israel in 1983. She's a very great mother and wife too, and very talented. She's worked in Cub Scouts for 10 years. She has put up with a lot and come through several trying times. It is not easy living with a perfectionist (Mike) who is not perfect.

This is an update of the Dalton Book since it was last accomplished circa 1989 for Donald M. Dalton.

When we left off in the last version, I was still in the United States Air Force Reserves (USAFR). I continued in that until February 26, 1996. As a result of being in the USAFR, I was privileged to participate in or actually fight several wars from the easy chair atmosphere of a stateside desk job. That doesn’t mean that I did not do anything; far from it. In the first Iraqi War known as Operation Desert Shield (the preparation for conflict) and then Desert Storm (the war itself), I was in charge of the reservists that augmented Hill Air Force Base Supply, Transportation, Munitions, Judge Advocate, Security Police, Civil Engineering, Procurement and Contracting, Hospital, and others. In effect, I had the greatest responsibility except for the person filling the Brigadier General’s position as Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) Commander. This meant that I determined which reservists to ask to “volunteer” for the war and which ones to put on “man days'' in support of the war. All totaled, I probably had as many as 250+ reservists for whom the active duty directors looked to me for day-to-day management, feeding, and encouragement.

In this position, I sent teams of 40, 60, and 80 active duty augmented by reservists to various parts of the world for up to 179 days at a stretch. These teams augmented the active duty, filled behind deployed active duty, and constituted first-line combat elements in their own right. I had cops deployed to protect and defend stateside bases and war zone bases. I had doctors, nurses, and corpsmen deployed to key medical facilities stateside and in Germany. I had transportation and supply teams set up the structure used to receive and distribute combat materials and supplies stateside and overseas. I had judges holding court and prosecuting and defending the accused under the Uniform Code of Military Justice both stateside and overseas. I had civil engineering teams constructing and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to house and feed troops in many places. I had “Bomb Thumpers” acquire the newest weapons technology (what was the real war shortener in the Second Iraqi War) and field it to the combat troops. I had procurement and contracting officers process and administer the myriad of

conflicts necessary for the surge in wartime requirements.

One of the key tasks that active duty gave to me, or I just took it because I was in such disarray, was the Chemical and Biological Defense ensembles. I personally analyzed the requirements, and as a result, the Department of Defense adopted the deployment strategy to equip each and every person deploying with at least the minimum amount of protective gear. This was in anticipation of the contracts being let and new items to bring the troop issue up to full requirement. As a result, I ensured that 54 bags and all of their troops that transited Hill AFB were properly equipped. Now let’s see. 

Fifty-four flags times as many as 5000 and a few as 11. That was about 11,300 people who actually went to war in Iraq and had the stuff that would keep them alive.

Then the Air Force decided to reorganize its forces after the success of the war. I was toe to toe and nose to nose with other colonels and general officers, analyzing and defending the requirements for reservists in the new Air Force. As a result, Hill AFB received new allocations, and I began to interview to fill critical warfighting skill positions. I also had to defend the people that I had and make sure that they were properly rewarded for their outstanding efforts. My promotion rate was 100 percent up to Colonel. I even got two people who had done well promoted when they were not even considered salvageable. Oh! Did I mention that during the war I had many aircraft Aircraft Battle Damage Repair (ABDR) teams? These were deployed to make battlefield repairs on aircraft and get them back into the

fight.

After the war and reorganization, I took over the duties in the Strategic Missile System Program Office (SPO). There, I helped make decisions on what weapons to take out of service based on the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT) and when to make this happen. My analysis of over 50 contracts for contractors producing and supporting the Minuteman and Peacekeeper weapons systems led to the baring and freezing of several accounts worth a total of over 3.5 billion dollars and the eventual reorganization of the contract support structure for these nuclear weapons.

As a civilian:

I was on the front lines for all testing and acquiring all the new weapons that proved so successful in Afghanistan and Iraq for the second time.

Then came the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in 1995. I was the point man for analysis and defense of the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The chief of engineering and I and hundreds of others, including the entire congressional contingent from the state of Utah, fought hard and won. We

meticulously documented answers to hundreds of questions for the UTTR and for Hill AFB and Edwards AFB. The fact that we are still operating, but with only one-quarter of the staff, says it all.

Since then, I have been the junkyard dog in the fight for support from Hill Air Force Base (AFB) in support of the 388th Fighter Wing. I am the agreement manager. I deal with everyone that we need support from and all those that seek support from us.

As a result of my efforts and good relations built up over the years and the total trust and confidence of my superiors in my abilities, I was able to put in motion new support requirements after 9/11.

My church job currently consists of home teaching. But through the years since 1989, I have been a Stake Missionary, Ward Mission Leader, assistant to the High Priests Group Leader and facilities manager.

I have to say that I STILL LOVE MY WIFE, children, and grandchildren. And I do have a testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, The Lord Jesus Christ and the current prophet Gordon B. Hinkley.

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