Merv, as his friends and family called him, was the youngest of three children, born in Nephi, Utah in 1911 to James Alvin Redden and Harriet Ostler Redden. The family later moved to Provo where his father opened a grocery and butcher store. Merv worked by his father's side through his school years. He graduated from Provo High School and then Brigham Young University earning a degree in music in 1931. Merv married Flo Della Heindselman in 1935, and joined her family in the Heindselman Jewelry business. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a turret-gunner instructor. Because of his background in piano and organ he was attached to the chaplains and performed during various religious services. After the war, Merv returned to Provo until Flo's death in 1952. Merv purchased a ranch in Wallsberg, Utah that he operated until he met and married Earldean Aiken in 1953. They lived in Provo and he was a sales representative for Sohmer Pianos. Then Merv purchased and operated Art City Bowling Lanes in Springville, Utah. In 1967 Merv and Earldean decided to go into the hospitality business, owning and operating several motels in Cody, WY; Heber, UT; and Kanab, UT; finally retiring in 1982 to live in Salt Lake City near their children. His beloved Earldean, our mother, passed away in 2005. Merv will be remembered as a loving father, a gentleman, and an astute businessman.
He is survived by three daughters, Kim Tate, Monarch Beach, CA; Denise Redden, Salt Lake City, UT; and Diane Redden, Salt Lake City, UT; their spouses and one grandson, Nicholas Tate, Monarch Beach, CA.
Entombment was at the Salt Lake Memorial Mausoleum.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune on 6/8/2008.
Merv, as his friends and family called him, was the youngest of three children, born in Nephi, Utah in 1911 to James Alvin Redden and Harriet Ostler Redden. The family later moved to Provo where his father opened a grocery and butcher store. Merv worked by his father's side through his school years. He graduated from Provo High School and then Brigham Young University earning a degree in music in 1931. Merv married Flo Della Heindselman in 1935, and joined her family in the Heindselman Jewelry business. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a turret-gunner instructor. Because of his background in piano and organ he was attached to the chaplains and performed during various religious services. After the war, Merv returned to Provo until Flo's death in 1952. Merv purchased a ranch in Wallsberg, Utah that he operated until he met and married Earldean Aiken in 1953. They lived in Provo and he was a sales representative for Sohmer Pianos. Then Merv purchased and operated Art City Bowling Lanes in Springville, Utah. In 1967 Merv and Earldean decided to go into the hospitality business, owning and operating several motels in Cody, WY; Heber, UT; and Kanab, UT; finally retiring in 1982 to live in Salt Lake City near their children. His beloved Earldean, our mother, passed away in 2005. Merv will be remembered as a loving father, a gentleman, and an astute businessman.
He is survived by three daughters, Kim Tate, Monarch Beach, CA; Denise Redden, Salt Lake City, UT; and Diane Redden, Salt Lake City, UT; their spouses and one grandson, Nicholas Tate, Monarch Beach, CA.
Entombment was at the Salt Lake Memorial Mausoleum.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune on 6/8/2008.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement