Darol Arthur Heaton was born February 9^th, 1929 in Salt Lake City Utah. His parents Merrill and Afton Heaton lived in Alton, Utah at the time of his birth.   Darol  passed away July 10, 2025 at the age of 96. He leaves behind his wife Georgia Troy Heaton with whom he had just celebrated their 71 wedding anniversary.  They were married in the St. George temple on July 6, 1954. He leaves behind 6 living children; Darolene Brown (Ivan), Lisa Findlay (Kelly), Marcie Judd (Brent),  Trena Schuster (Michael), Troy Heaton (Heidi), Scott Heaton (Traci).   Kimberlee Heaton,  proceeded her father in death in 1982 at the age of 10. Darol and Georgia have 20 grand kids, 41 great grand children and 3 great great grand children.  And to all of them Darol was Papa.

 He attended school in Alton, Utah from grades 1-5, in a 2 room school and then went on to attend 6^th grade through High School in Orderville, Utah where he excelled at sports and running. 

He also attended one year at the Branch Agricultural college in Cedar City, Utah before being drafted into the Army, after basic training he chose the 82^nd Airborne. He always said he got to jump out of perfectly good airplanes.    When he was discharged he learned to fly from a Mr. Christofferson in Provo and earned his pilot license. He would often fly different officials to meetings. He loved flying.

 Darol loved farming and remembers with fondness his time spent on the Arizona Strip with the family sheep herds, before he was married.

Darol always was able to find work to provide for his family.  He worked at Kaibab Industries driving logging trucks. He worked construction at the Glenn Canyon and Hoover dams. He worked for the Fredonia-Moccasion School District as head of maintenance and trip driver, ran a Montgomery Ward Catalog agency in Kanab, Utah, and drove truck for Energy Fuels and Arizona Fuels Corporation.  When work became scarce in the area, the family moved to Trona, California to work for Kerr-McGee. When they returned to the area he drove for Goodfellow’s and Bruce Judd Gravel Company He eventually retired to grow hay and helped with the Jackson House B&B that he and Georgia opened.  Laser Productions, was a business they also started in order to laser boards for Accountable Kids and for other local businesses.  Of all the jobs that he had throughout the years,  he enjoyed the sheep herd, driving truck and farming the most.   A special place in his heart was driving ‘Old Blue’ for the different school groups over the years that he worked at the Fredonia-Moccasin School District.   He loved his interaction with the students during these trips.

Darol and Georgia were called on a mission to Martin’s Cove in Wyoming in 2007.  Darol loved this type of mission, talking to visitors and working on projects at Martin’s cove. 

When Darol was young. gardening was for survival and putting food on the table,  but it was one of his great passions. Even on the morning of his death he was up at 5:30 am to beat the heat and water his garden.

People he met were never strangers to Papa,  he could talk to anyone. He was a man of humbleness, simplicity, sincerity and you could always count on his big, kind heart. He never hesitated to express his love for his family, his community and most of all, for his Heavenly Father.

Darol, Dad and Papa, you will be missed!!!

Funeral Services will be held Friday, July 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM (AZ Time) in the Fredonia LDS Chapel, with viewing from 10:00-10:45 AM.  Burial will be in the Alton Cemetery following services. Arrangements were made with Mosdell Mortuary.