Deseret News Archives,
Friday, September 1, 1995
Services for Mr. Ashton, 82, who died at LDS Hospital after suffering a series of strokes, will be in the Mount Olympus 8th Ward chapel, 4176 S. Adonis Drive (3950 East).
Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Larkin Sunset Lawn Mortuary, 2350 E. 1300 South, and from 9 to 10:15 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
The funeral will be conducted by Bishop H. Ross Workman of the Mount Olympus 8th Ward, Mount Olympus North Stake.
Speakers will include Mr. Ashton's son, Owen R. Ashton and his daughter, Allyson Louise A. Chard. Brief tributes will be given by daughters and sons Wendy A. Christiansen, Susan Ashton, Ellen A. VanOrman, Marged A. Kirkpatrick, Kay R. Ashton and a grandson, Jeffery C. Olsen.
Musical numbers will be provided by a chorus of missionaries from the England London Mission, where Mr. Ashton served for three years as president beginning in 1985, and by a group of musicians from the Utah Symphony. Mr. Ashton served as president and chairman of the board of the symphony for 20 years.
Prayers at the funeral will be given by Mr. Ashton's sister, Eleanor A. Badger, and a close friend, Clark N. Stohl.
The family prayer will be given by Owen R. Ashton, and the grave will be dedicated by Kay R. Ashton.
Wm. James Mortimer, who succeeded Mr. Ashton as publisher of the Deseret News in 1985, and industrialist Jon M. Huntsman, who also is a close friend of the Ashton family, have already provided tributes to Mr. Ashton.
``The Deseret News has lost a true friend in the passing of our former publisher Wendell J. Ashton.
``His leadership at the News came at a crucial time in our agency relationship with the Tribune. The course he set still guides our operations today.
``His boundless energy and drive resulted in innumerable good works and notable accomplishments. He will never be forgotten.
``All of us at the Deseret News join in mourning his passing and express to (his widow) Belva and the family our deepest sympathy and best wishes,'' Mortimer said.
Huntsman, who succeeded Mr. Ashton as chairman of the Utah Symphony and worked closely at his side for three decades, said: ``Perhaps Utah will never again raise a native son who will do so much for so many. His enthusiasm and tireless energy to build a better Utah were perhaps only exceeded by Brigham Young himself. We will truly miss a great champion of everything good and positive.''
The Right Honorable Lord Kenneth R. Thomson of Fleet, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose family owns numerous newspapers throughout the world, sent a message of condolence to Mrs. Ashton.
He paid tribute, among other things, to Mr. Ashton's traits of positivism, his love for and interest in other people.
``I don't think I have ever known a more positive person than Wendell. He always saw the bright, happy, hopeful side of everything. Wendell loved people, not just because they happened to be important in a business, religious or cultural way, but because he was genuinely interested in them. He admired successful people, that is, successful people who made a real contribution to society. Wealth per se was of no interest to him. His admiration for people was always based on the quality of the mind and the heart . . . All we can do now is to be grateful that we had his friendship and his love and that his inspiration will continue to give us strength, hope and above all appreciation of our good fortune.''
© 1995 Deseret News Publishing Co.