Dr. Lynn Crookston

Dr. Lynn Byron Crookston

January 4, 1920 – November 26, 2016

Lynn Byron Crookston passed away peacefully on November 26, 2016 at the age of 96.

Lynn was born on January 4, 1920 in Logan, Utah, eldest child of Byron Frank and Emeline Alleman Crookston.

Growing up in Cache Valley, Lynn spent his youth hiking, skiing, camping, fishing, and hunting in the surrounding mountains with his father, siblings, and friends. He often boasted of the family garden and how they lived year-round off the fruits of their labor. He spent many of his summers at Bear Lake running boats at Fish Haven, and later working as the waterfront director at Camp Hunt. After spending the entire summer running the waterfront in 1946, he successfully swam the width of the lake from Fish Haven. He spoke fondly of his summers spent there. As a young man, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Western States Mission assigned to Colorado and Nebraska.

In 1947, he married Carol Russell in the Logan LDS Temple. Together they had their daughter, Wendy. Carol passed away of polio in 1952.

Lynn received a B.S. in Zoology from Utah State Agricultural College (USU). He went on to pursue a D.D.S. and a M.S. in Endodontics from the University of Michigan where he was also on the staff.  He practiced dentistry for 47 years in Ogden.

He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and in the U.S. Public Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.  Lynn developed a great love for the Navajo people while in New Mexico.

While working with the U.S. Public Health Service in New Mexico, he met his future wife, Melva Castleton, a public health nurse. They married on March 4, 1955 in the Logan LDS Temple. Together they raised 12 children.

He was a lifetime scouter; he earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was awarded the Silver Beaver. He led many boys, including some daughters, to the top of King’s Peak and through the wilderness areas of Uintah, Yellowstone, and the Wind River Range, to name a few.  “Dr. C” is fondly remembered by the boys of troop 257. He rafted hundreds of miles of the great rivers of the West with his children and the scouts. Lynn was especially proud that all six of his sons were Eagle Scouts.

He loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ and served in his church in many capacities. In his later years, he served a mission with his wife Melva in the Wisconsin, Milwaukee Mission. Lynn was an avid hunter, rarely missing a season until he was well into his nineties, but his greatest joy in life was spending time with his beloved wife and family. When visiting their grandpa, his grandchildren could always count on one of his famous root beer floats. He absolutely loved life and lived it to the fullest, never slowing down and always taking a sincere interest in everyone he met.

Lynn is survived by his loving wife, Melva; twelve children, Wendy and Ray Williams, Becky Glasmann, Miriam and Bob Langford, Sarah and Scott Godfrey, Peter and Amy Crookston, Wayne and Susie Crookston, Paul and Kimalee Crookston, Elizabeth and Curt Panter, John and Mikelle Crookston, Emily and Todd Stokes, James and Jenefer Crookston, and Mike and Amy Crookston; 49 grandchildren, and 38 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Donna Jenkins of Logan.  He was preceded in death by his first wife, Carol; brothers, Rulon, George, and Ray; and his sister, Lola Harline Wilson; and grandchildren, Elise Crookston and Aaron and Nathan Godfrey.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 11 a.m. at the Kingston Ward Chapel, 1425 Kingston Drive, Ogden.   Friends may visit with family on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd. and Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church.  Interment, Logan City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations to the Huntsman Cancer Institute or Trapper Trails Council, BSA.