We honor here members, friends and supporters of the American Council of the Blind who have impacted our lives in many wonderful ways. If you would like to submit a notice for this column, please include as much of the following information as possible.
Name (first, last, maiden if appropriate)
City of residence (upon passing)
State/province of residence (upon passing)
Other cities/states/countries of residence (places where other blind people may have known this person)
Occupation
Date of death (day if known, month, year)
Age
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Deaths that occurred more than six months ago cannot be reported in this column.
Leland Kent Wimmer
Jan. 8, 1929-Sept. 26, 2022
Reprinted with permission from “The UCB Buzz,” November 2022.
Leland Kent Wimmer, 93, of Draper, Utah, passed away on September 26, 2022 due to osteomyelitis.
Kent was born January 8, 1929 to Harold J. and Lucille Wimmer in Duchesne County, Utah, and grew up driving cattle and tractors in 9-Mile Canyon with 12 siblings. After attending Duchesne High School, he served honorably in the 65th Combat Engineer Battalion, 25th Division, U.S. Army in Korea, where he drove over a land mine while finishing an air strip. He rehabbed at the Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center, setting the course for the rest of his life.
Returning home totally blind and partially deaf, he attended law school at the University of Utah, and was a successful attorney for over 60 years.
He lived in the same home on R Street in the Avenues for nearly 70 years, where he went on to have six children from his first marriage to Dolores Osolin (Wayne, Kathleen, Scott, Kristine, Linda, and Stephen) and adopted two more from his second to Toni Anthony (Robert and Ray), before being married and sealed in the Bountiful, Utah temple to his third wife, Willa Rae Holt, in June 2021.
His favorite activity was taking road trips across the country, hearing descriptions of the landmarks, and showing off his amazing memory and vast knowledge with a story and a detour everywhere along the way.
Kent’s quick smile, good humor, glass eyes and booming voice made him a memorable man who touched many lives with his perseverance, kindness, love and generosity.
Kent was predeceased by his siblings (Edythe, Thomas, Jack, Robert, Arlene, Lee, and William) and daughter (Kathleen). He is survived by his wife, Willa Rae Holt, his siblings (Jean, J.D., Elaine, Sally, and Max), children (Wayne, Scott, Kristine, Linda, Stephen, Robert and Ray), stepchildren (Donnie, Marie, Ellis, Leah, Amy, Lindsi, and Noel), grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Oct. 4, 2022, with interment at the Utah Veterans Cemetery in Bluffdale.