Douglas Stanley Stubbs, 89, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 10, in Layton, Utah. He was born on July 31, 1935, in Provo, Utah, to Stanley P. Stubbs and Bernice McEwan Stubbs.
Doug grew up on a farm and orchard in Provo, where he developed his strong work ethic. His grandfather, Wilford Stubbs, and his dad taught him how to farm, including the art of pruning fruit trees.
In school, Doug took a Future Farmers of America class on fruit farming. During a field trip to a local orchard for some hands-on training, it was discovered who his grandfather and father were, making it apparent that he would already know how to do the work. From this experience he learned the importance of what a name and reputation meant, and this was a lesson he passed down to his children and grandchildren.
While attending Lincoln High School in Orem, Utah, he met his future lifelong companion, Vonzaa Poulson. They were married on Aug. 27, 1953, and on Aug. 20, 1954, they were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple. They were blessed with three sons and two daughters.
Doug was hired by Utah Power & Light in 1953. He started his career at the Hale Plant in Orem, Utah, then moved on to work at the Carbon Plant in Price, Utah, and finally in 1962, he moved to Kemmerer to work at the newly-built Naughton Plant.
During his career, he filled several positions from skilled helper, operator, control room operator, shift supervisor, safety administrator to operations superintendent. While employed by the company, he was given the nickname “Stubbie.” He retired from Utah Power & Light in 1987.
After moving to Kemmerer, always being a hard worker, Doug also worked as a truck driver part-time, and later owned and operated the only car wash in town.
Doug was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicating his time to serving the members of his faith. His church callings included counselor in the Bishopric, Bishop, High Priest group leader and stake Young Men’s president.
Doug was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and held the position of vice-president in the Jim Bridger Council and the Explorer program. Following his retirement, he worked many summers at the Scout camp at Newfork Lake in the Wind Rivers. He received the Silver Beaver award for his many years of hard work and dedication.
Doug enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and he especially enjoyed canoeing. He was a Jazz fan from the day the Jazz moved their franchise to Utah. He also enjoyed building, creating and tinkering. His greatest building project was building a cabin at Bear Lake, Utah, alongside his children and grandchildren, for the family to enjoy.
Doug was adored by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who loved to listen to his stories of the past, including his interesting anecdotes about growing up during the Depression.
He is survived by his wife, Vonzaa; his five children: Kerry (Linda) Stubbs, Chris (Randy) Hansen, Denise Santjer, Wayne (Lisa) Stubbs and Steven Stubbs; 16 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; brother, Rand Stubbs; sister, Iola (Gary) Bankhead; and sister-in-law, Colleen Stubbs.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Stanley and Bernice Stubbs; brother, Kyle Stubbs; grandson, Lance Sternberg; son-in-law, Ben Santjer; and sister-in-law, Renee Stubbs.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah. Family and friends may visit Thursday from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. at the mortuary prior to the service at the mortuary.
Interment will be at the Orem City Cemetery in Orem, Utah.
The funeral service will be live-streamed and may be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of Doug’s obituary page at www.lindquistmortuary.com.
