The Life of Lewis Burton Westover

It is Memorial Day weekend and as is my habit I am visiting as many Cache Valley cemeteries as I can.

While in nearby Lewiston, Utah at the grave of Lewis Burton Westover I was approached by a nice lady who asked, “Are you the mysterious flower bringer? Are you a Westover?”

I laughed and said I am indeed a Westover and that I have been called by many names but never in the context of the word “mysterious”.

She told me she knew some Westover’s in Lewiston and they have wondered for years who was bringing flowers for Grandpa Westover every Memorial Day weekend.

I’m not sure that was me. But I’ve been a fan of Lewis Burton Westover for many, many years.

~ Who is Lewis Burton Westover? ~

I am not descended from Lewis Burton Westover. But he has become important to me.

Lewis Burton Westover was born in St. George in 1868 to Charles and Eliza Westover. Charles is Edwin’s brother, making my connection to Lewis as another grandson of Electa Westover.

I’ve written about Lewis Burton Westover before in telling the story of the Honeymoon Trail. But there is much more to learn about him.

First, he is of the same generation of great-grandfather William Ruthvin Westover. These cousins, grandsons of Electa, were the children of our westward pioneers.

But my William only lived until 1902. Lewis Burton Westover was blessed with a long life and died at the age of 98, passing in 1966.

I have often wondered how the world and our family history would have been different if William Ruthvin had lived beyond the age of 42. The fact that his cousin Lewis did live so long is instructive to me.

He was born and grew up in the St. George area and took his bride, Eliza Johanna Funk, to the St. George Temple in 1889.

They moved to Colorado and farmed there for over 20 years, before coming to Northern Utah around 1910 to help improve Eliza’s failing health. During these years they grew their family to 12 children.

Lewis was thoroughly invested in his faith. He was faithful in attending both the St. George and Logan temples. He served two missions. He was known for his love of genealogy and family history. And he was passionate about missionary work.

The Lewis B. Westover family in 1913

But it is the years of his adult life that fascinate me about Lewis B. Westover.

In 1915, Eliza passed away after years of suffering from heart issues.

Having a large farm operation and a large family to support, Lew Westover – or LB, as some called him – could have rushed into a new marriage to keep things running.
He did not do that, opting instead to seek the counsel of his bishop and the help of his extended family.

His farm in Lewiston was next to the Church farm and he worked both of them. Well into his late 80s Lew continued to work these farms and attend to the temple, family and Church work.

In 1939, at age 71, he remarried.

He raised his children having them work and sacrifice by his side. They were sometimes asked to work long, hard hours on the farm, going entire seasons without attending school. He kept his family active in the Church and sent all of his sons on missions. One served in Tahiti. Another in New Zealand. Another in California.

In reading the histories of all his children they were each clear about certain facts: Lew was head over heels in love with Eliza. She was “an angel” and he adored her. They loved spending time together and shared a passion for the Church.

Her loss in 1915 was devastating for all of them.

One son, still working hard on the farm in his early 20s, grieved her loss while at the same time questioning what he should do with his life, whether he stay on the farm, serve a mission or head off to college. His mother appeared to him during this crisis and encouraged him to stay on the farm with his father.

The Lewis B. Westover family of Lewiston, Utah were united, faithful to each other, and engaged with each other in ways reminiscent of the William R. Westover family in Rexburg during those very same years. Their parallel paths are unmistakable.

But unlike William, Lew survived and made his mark with his children and grandchildren for the final 50 years of his life, experiencing nearly all that the 20th century had to offer. He literally lived from the times of horse and buggy to space flight.

He didn’t spare his family of his opinions. While young some of his children thought he was quite strict, having to approve of companions and activities. When they were older he was their go-to resource for counsel, always talking spiritual consequences for temporal pursuits.

Gospel principles, faith in action, testifying of the Prophet and the Book of Mormon and missionary service were common themes. So too was the work of family history. Lewis Burton Westover was proud of his heritage.

As a farmer he was frustrated by politics. A lifelong Democrat, one child recorded that he bailed on the party due to Franklin Roosevelt and became a Republican. Later he switched back because of something a Republican said that offended his principles.

As time passed Lew was consistently engaged, concerned and connected to his children and grandchildren.

Especially his youngest son.

~ Ivan Burton Westover ~

Buried in Lewiston near his parents is Ivan Burton Westover, born in 1912, the youngest son of Lew and Eliza Westover.

Ivan was born with what they would call Down Syndrome.

Lew, as a widower, embraced raising his children as a single parent. They were embedded in his daily activities and Lew didn’t see their work separate from his own.

When Ivan was old enough, Lew sent him to a special school in distant American Fork. Over time, he was not pleased with how things were going for Ivan and he brought him home, where the family of his oldest son, Marcus took him in.

Ivan’s special needs were marked with high levels of love and he had an impact on everyone he lived with.

Around age 85 Lew realized that his youngest son was going to outlive him and that Lew himself could not continue to care for him. He offered his farm to any of his children or grandchildren who could take in Ivan.

They would hear nothing of that and several took turns over Ivan’s remaining years. Each one of these families would go on to testify what a blessing Ivan was in their lives, teaching their own children in ways they never could have imagined.

Ivan lived until the age of 69.

I will continue to make my pilgrimage to Lewiston on Memorial Day and other days of the year. I would very much love to meet my Westover cousins in Lewiston to learn more of their lives there.

The dedication to life, service and family by Lewis B. Westover is inspiring to me. As he aged he didn’t slow down or compromise on those things he held dear. His family clearly cherished him and his good wife, Eliza.

When I consider Lewis Burton in the context of his parents, Charles and Eliza, it is with happy contemplation. He was engaged, respectful and loving to his parents.

They, in turn, were parents to Lew to their dying day. In 1916, not too long after Lew lost Eliza, she wrote him a letter testifying of the Prophet and sharing the experience she had at the transfiguration of Brigham Young in Nauvoo. She was 87 – and would live another 7 years.

In considering the lives of these good people it occurs to me that what endures are not the memories of life in pioneer Utah, farms and passing technology. What endures is conviction and the last impact of pure love.

That’s what Lewis Burton Westover was all about.

His grandson, Paul Lewis Westover, took the family history work of Lewis Burton Westover and others of the family to write Legacy of Faith, a comprehensive look at our family history dating back centuries. We keep it available here in our archives and consider one of our most cherished records.