January 6, 1932 — October 18, 2020
Richleigh H. (Rich) Gilliat, 88, of St. George, Utah, passed away on Oct. 18, 2020, from the COVID-19 virus. Rich was born Jan. 6, 1932, in Pasadena, California to Fred Gordon and Mary Ann Doris Scott Gilliat. He was born and raised as an only child.
Rich attended and graduated from John Muir High School in Pasadena. After a year of Jr. college, his national guard division was activated, and he found himself serving in the Korean War as an officer. He was always immensely proud of the opportunity he had to serve his country, and many of the men he served within the 176th Armored Field Artillery Battalion became his lifelong friends. After returning home from the war in 1953, Rich enrolled in USC and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He went on to work for Minneapolis-Honeywell, Shell Oil, Hercules and Kaiser.
In September of 1959, he met the love of his life, Lou Ann Peterson and on Aug. 27, 1960, they were married in her childhood home in LaJara, Colorado.
Shortly after getting married, the happy couple moved from Long Beach, California, to Salt Lake City where they started a family. They were blessed with three children: Patricia, Susan, and David.
In his 30s, Rich embraced The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved the Lord, the church, and all of his callings, but his favorites were both scoutmaster and Bishop because he said, “I was so ill-prepared, and the Lord answered my prayers so often. Both callings helped me immensely with my most important callings as a husband and father.” Later in life, he served two missions for the church.
He once said, “I want it known that my family was my career, and my jobs for 27 years with Hercules and six with Kaiser were to put bread on the table, although I did enjoy Kaiser.” He was an extraordinary husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and his loss is felt deeply by those he left behind.
Rich is preceded in death by both of his parents. He is survived by his wife, Lou Ann, and their children: Patricia Ann (Clayton) Munk, Rockland, Idaho; Susan Leigh (Aron) Baker, Santa Clara, Utah; David Scott (Heather) Gilliat, Tigard, Oregon; 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Due to COVID-19, private services will be held at a later date.
Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S. Bluff St., St. George, Utah. Friends and family are invited to sign his online guestbook at www.spilsburymortuary.com