Isaac E. Brockbank Succumbs

Prominent Provo Man Dies in Auto Mishap; Heart Attack Believed Cause

Believed to have suffered an instantly fatal heart attack, Isaac E. Brockbank, 72, prominent Provo attorney and church and civic worker, was found dead in his car in Provo Canyon early this morning seconds after it had plunged off the road and hurdled a deep gully.

Mr. Brockbank, alone in his car, was driving to Provo from his canyon home at Wildwood a few miles above the scene of the accident. His car left the road on a curve at the state road equipment sheds just a few hundred years below Vivian Park. The accident occurred shortly after 6 a.m.

The examining doctor said an autopsy would be necessary to definitely confirm it, but all evidence pointed to a heart attack which probably was instantly fatal. It was known Mr. Brockbank had a bad heart. State Trooper Lawrence Clark, who headed the investigation with Orem Chief of Police Arthur Henderson and Orem Officer Reed Burgener, concurred in the opinion. There was apparently no decision to hold an autopsy.

No Skid Marks

The machine, which showed no evidence of brake or skid marks, had apparently gone straight off the road at the end of the curve near the equipment sheds, clipped off a fence post and traveled in a straight line down near the side of the road for 189 feet before hurtling a deep gully. The car’s nose crashed into the ripping of the west side of the gully and its momentum carried it up the gully’s bank to a pint west of the washout where the machine came to rest right side up.

Las Vegas motorist Chester Dawson was first on the scene. He did not see the accident but arrived while dust was still pour-upward. He found Mr. Brockbank slumped over the wheel, dead. J. W. Tanner of Springville came by seconds later. They called police and the body was taken to the Utah Valley Hospital by the Orem emergency ambulance.

The victim received broken ribs, a crushed chest and a broken left leg from the accident.

Isaac Elmer Brockbank was born Oct. 17, 1882 at Spanish Fork, son of Joshua and Sarah Ann Jex Brockbank.

He received his early education in the Spanish Fork schools. He was graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in 1915. In 1920 he received his M.A. and LLb. Degrees from University of Utah and a short time later he received his J.D. degree at University of Chicago.

Civic, Church Worker

Mr. Brockbank was an active and generous public spirited citizen, in both civic and religious groups.

He was a past president of the Provo Chamber of Commerce and of the Provo Rotary Club. He served as chairman of Utah County Red Cross organization and a member of its board for many years. He was county chairman of the Republican Party and had been a continuous member of the Utah Valley Hospital board, serving one term as its chairman. During his membership he headed many financial drives to establish the hospital on a firm basis. He served two terms as Utah County attorney and had been for years a member of the Utah National Parks Boy Scout Council. His most recent service has been a member of the Provo Charter Commission which is now working out a home rule charter for Provo City. He was a generous donor to numerous worthwhile church and civic projects.

A member of the LDS Church, Mr. Brockbank has served its organizations enthusiastically. He filled an LDS mission to Germany, later touring the European continent. He was president of the Utah Stake YMMIA for many years and served a long term as a member of the Utah Stake High Council. During its construction he was chairman of the committee for building the MIA Girls Canyon Home in Provo Canyon and continuously supported this project. He was always a devoted student of LDS Church history.

A patron of the arts, he with Mrs. Brockbank traveled around the world three years ago bringing back many samples of world art.

Among his early business affiliations he was director and secretary of Jex Lumber Company, Spanish Fork and the Intermountain Finance and Thrift Company.

Mr. Brockbank married Zoe Brimhall. She died in 1912. On Sept. 1, 1916 he married Elsie Booth in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They made their home in Spanish Fork until 1920 when they moved to Provo.

Surviving are his widow; nine daughters, Mrs. Lohr (Nancy) Livingston, Salt Lake City; Mrs. Dean (Carol) Gray, San Francisco; Mrs. Creed (Elinor) Brimhall, Provo; Mrs. Merrill (Helen) Welch, Salt Lake City; Mrs. Dale (Ila) Peterson, Salt Lake City; Mrs. Monroe J. (Shirley) Paxman, Provo; Mrs. Paul (Patricia) Fillmore, Fort Benning, Ga.; Joyce and Kay Brockbank, Provo; 25 grandchildren; two brothers, Ernest and Willis Brockbank, Spanish Fork, and two sisters, Mrs. Eliza Hales and Mrs. Lily Boyack, Spanish Fork.

Funeral services will be announced by the Berg Mortuary Company

Daily Herald (Provo, UT), August 16, 1954, Pages 1-2