Ralph Klemm

H. RALPH KLEMM

1927-2017

Our beloved father, Hyrum Ralph Klemm, passed away on February 9, 2017 in Salt Lake City at the age of 89, due to causes incident to age.

Ralph was born in Salt Lake City to Walter Otto and Frieda Uhlmann Klemm on November 26, 1927.  He graduated from Granite High School in 1945 and was soon drafted into the United States Army.  When he returned home, he served a mission for the LDS Church in the Swiss-Austrian Mission for 32 months.  Upon his return to the United States he attended BYU and graduated with a B.A. degree in 1953.  Later that year, he enrolled in the University of Utah Law School where he graduated with a Doctor of Laws Degree in 1956.  Thereafter, he practiced law in Utah for 50 years until he chose to retire to care for his wife.

During his career he was employed by the U.S. Government for eleven years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Utah.  He also served for a time as President of the Utah Trial Lawyers Association and he was on the Utah State Bar Ethics Screening Committee for four years.

Ralph married his eternal sweetheart Lorraine Olson in the Salt Lake Temple on November 5, 1953, and they had five children.  He also had 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

While living in Bountiful, Ralph was active in community affairs.  In 1976 he ran for the Utah State Senate and in 1978 he ran for County Attorney of Davis County.  Later he served on the Davis County Democratic Committee for four years.

Ralph has always been active in the LDS Church.  While living in Rose Park he served in the bishopric of his ward and on the High Council of his Stake.  In Bountiful he served in several leadership positions and was the bishop of the Orchard 14th Singles Ward.  This was a position that he and his wife enjoyed very much.  He also served as Stake Executive Secretary for seven years under three stake presidents.  He and Lorraine served a mission to the Washington D.C. Temple from 1995-1996.  He also wrote a book about the Plan of Salvation.  But he was best known as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher and High Priest Instructor in his later years.

His dear wife passed away on April 9, 2015, but he is survived by his five children; Kathleen, Steven (Linda), Ronald (Anne), Rosemary (Eldon) Payne and Susan (Scott) Jurges.  He is also survived by his sisters Margaret Gudmundsen (Gerald) and Beth Sessions (Glen), and brother David L. Klemm (Elaine) of Los Altos Hills, CA.  He was preceded in death by his brothers Walter and Gerald and by his sister Ruth.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, February 16, 2017 at the Orchard Stake Center 3599 S. Orchard Dr. with a visitation on Wednesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Bountiful Mortuary 727 N. 400 E. Bountiful, and from 9:30-10:30 a.m. prior to the service at the church.  He will be buried next to his wife in the Bountiful City Cemetery.