Melvin Devon Fackrell

Our three-time Senior Games Gold Medalist, Melvin Devon Fackrell, crossed his final finish line on March 5, 2025 in St.George, Utah. It took him 91 years, which is slower than most, but he made it. His family issued him a fourth gold medal just for the way he ran the race throughout his life. Waiting for him on the other side of the finish line was his wife Delora, son Brian, great-granddaughter Eva Carney, parents Delbert and Eva May, and sisters Marjean Cook and Ila Young. We’re sure our Heavenly Father and Savior were there to congratulate him on a race well run while staying on course along their covenant path. In the bleachers cheering him on from the earthly side were his sister Maxine (Mickie) Mannos, brother and best friend Wendell Fackrell, daughters Janice (Cal) Simmons, Sharon (Bob) Winegar and Julie (Cory) Smith, sons Blaine (Jill) Fackrell and Bradley (Janet) Fackrell, 26 grandchildren, 57 8/9 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. 

Mel was born in Hinckley Utah on September 25, 1933 to Eva May Dutson and Delbert Hoyt Fackrell. When he was a little boy, his family lived in the Delta and Hinckley area, wherever his father could find work. In 1944 the family moved to the Tooele Army Depot (TAD Park) for one year. They moved to Salt Lake City in 1945. We loved to hear the stories of his childhood and the hardships their family faced just to make ends meet. It was a period in Mel’s youth that strengthened his lifelong family bonds. 

Mel graduated from West High School in Salt Lake City in 1951. On April 1,1952 he married his high school and eternal sweetheart Delora Dudley in the Salt Lake City Temple. He worked various jobs to support their growing family, eventually opening his own television repair shop near their home in Salt Lake City. He later went to work for Kennecott Copper in their Salt Lake data center. In 1965, the need for a larger house to accommodate their children took them to Bountiful, Utah. In 1975, to satisfy his long desire to be a farmer, they moved to a home with acreage in Porterville, UT where he raised cattle and the last of their children finished high school. In 1990, Mel left Kennecott to become a full-time farmer, which he loved. 

Mel’s material possessions in life were modest, but the path he chose to run was straight, narrow and lined with golden rewards along the way. He loved fishing, hunting, gardening, boating, water skiing, golfing, basketball, farming, and doing anything where he could appreciate the Lord’s creations in nature. Family Thanksgiving football games were a yearly tradition that he and Wendell promoted. The games always ended with smiling faces, minimal carnage, and wonderment as to who won in any given year. 

Mel and Delora along with Wendell and his wife Bonita participated in the Huntsman World Senior Games in Saint George for 25 years. During that time Mel won many medals in running and basketball. 

In 2002 Mel and Delora served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. In 2011, they served in the Ogden Inner City Mission in Ogden, Utah. They were also ordinance workers in the Ogden Temple. They found great joy in being in the Lord’s service throughout their lives. 

In 2015 Mel and Delora acquired a condominium in St. George, which transformed them into “snowbirds” during the winter months. This gave them the opportunity to spend more time outdoors, doing the things they loved. 

Mel lost the spark in his life when Delora passed away on May 15, 2022. They had been married for over 70 years, and he deeply felt the loss of her companionship. Although his family will miss him, we are thankful that they’re together once again. 

A viewing will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025 from 9:30-11:15 am at the Porterville Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2700 South Morgan Valley Drive, Porterville, Utah). Funeral services will be held in the same building at 11:30 am. Mel will be interred at the South Morgan Cemetery at 335 South State Street, Morgan, Utah. 

In lieu of flowers or gifts, Mel would like you to spread cow manure in your garden and enjoy the outcome. He will be watching and smiling from the other side.