Richard Rees M.D.

Richard Bryant Rees M.D.

Richard Bryant Rees (Rick), 77, passed away on November 26, 2020, from complications of stomach cancer. He was born on March 12, 1943, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to Bryant Eugene Rees and Margaret Doris Schaaf Rees. He was the first born of three children. Rick attended schools in Fresno, California, graduating from Roosevelt High School. He attended Fresno State College, now (Fresno State University), where he graduated with a B.S. in math. During the summers he life guarded for the state of California at Millerton Lake near Fresno. He went on to medical school at University of California at Irvine, graduating with his M.D. He completed his internship at L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City, rotating through pediatrics, which he loved. During his internship he met Jolene Meyers, but eight days before their planned marriage, her life was tragically taken. He received permission to be sealed to her in the Manti Utah Temple.

He began his pediatric residency at University of Utah and completed it at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hollywood, California, in 1976. Dr. Rees was a fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics. He met Lacey Leilani Larsen on a blind date and married her six months later in the Manti Utah Temple on October 4, 1974. They had two children, Kit and Elsie, in southern California before moving to Oakhurst, California, in the Sierra foothills just 15 minutes from the south gate to Yosemite National Park. They added two more children, Barbara and Nathan. In Oakhurst he established a private pediatric practice and was the only board-certified pediatrician for Oakhurst and the surrounding mountain communities for the next 25 years.

Rick was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He eagerly accepted any calling that was extended to him, including that of bishop of the Oakhurst Ward, which he held for seven years. He later was an early-morning seminary teacher. While other doctors might go golfing for fun, Rick did family history research for relaxation. He also helped many to get started doing their own family history. He and Lacey enjoyed photography, and he enjoyed studying the history of military ships of WWI and playing board games with the grandkids. He served as a BSA cubmaster. Because of the many hats he wore, his children frequently addressed him as “Doctor, Daddy, Bishop, Sir!”

After the children were grown and married, he and Lacey moved in 2005 to Layton, Utah, to help Lacey’s aging mother. He later served on the staff of the Layton FamilySearch Center. He served on the Church of Jesus Christ Missionary Medical Committee and was a part-time health specialist for the Missionary Department. He worked as a fill-in pediatrician at various Intermountain Healthcare clinics in the Salt Lake and Davis County areas until he retired in 2018.

He is survived by Lacey, his wife of 46 years, and his children Christoffer (Lisa), Elsie Park (Chris), Barbara Knudsen, (Chad), Nathaniel (Heidi), and his 13 grandchildren: Rebekah, Charity, Autumn, Genevieve, Kimberly, April, Roman, Rees, Elizabeth, David, Elijah, Brielle, and Ethan. He is also survived by his siblings, Judy Percy (Dennis) and William (Pamela).

He is preceded in death by Jolene Meyers and his parents.

Funeral Services will be held Thursday December 3, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.  Friends may visit with family Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. at the mortuary.

Interment, Larkin Sunset Lawn Memorial Park

Services will be live-streamed by going to www.lindquistmortuary.com and scrolling to the bottom of Richards obituary page.

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