Gary Duane Barlow graduated from his time in mortality on December 19, 2023, after an extended illness. He was born in the family home in Bountiful, Utah, on August 19, 1938, to John Clyde and Joukje Zijsling Barlow as the youngest of their nine children.
After attending Stoker Elementary and Bountiful High, he graduated from Davis High School in 1956. Always a hard worker, as a young boy he picked cherries and other crops on his uncle’s fruit farm. At the age of 13, he began traveling with a crew of boys selling magazine subscriptions door- to-door throughout the western states.
He joined the National Guard at age 17 and completed his military time there. He attended the University of Utah where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Because he had hopes of becoming a pilot, he joined the university’s Air Force ROTC unit as a freshman. When he returned from his mission, he discovered his eyesight had changed making him ineligible for pilot training, he switched to the Army ROTC unit where he enjoyed competing as a member of the Rifle Drill Team.
He was grateful when he received a call to serve a mission to the Netherlands, the birthplace of his sweet mother. He loved his time as a missionary and served between 1958 and 1961. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1964 with a B.A. degree in Business Management after which he taught seminary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Flagstaff, Arizona. After a year of teaching, he returned his family to Bountiful where they resided for the next 48 years.
On June 3, 1963, he married his sweetheart, Dorothy Diane Seely, in the Salt Lake Temple. Their courtship began while they were students at Brigham Young University and that courtship continued for the next 60 years. They became the happy and busy parents of 12 children and now joyously count 60 grandchildren and 24 great- grandchildren in their growing family.
Always an avid missionary, Gary bore a fervent testimony of the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. He valued his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He counted it a blessing when he had the opportunity to call for technical help for his computer – usually to someone in India or the Philippines. Before he let the technical person end the call, he would often say, “Let me share a couple of websites with you.” He would then direct them to the Church websites regarding temples and would thus introduce the gospel to them.
He enjoyed serving in various capacities as they resided in wards in Provo, Flagstaff, and Bountiful, and eventually in Layton, Utah, where they have made their home for the past 11 years. He was grateful for the opportunity to serve in the Salt Lake Temple every Friday night for 21 years. He was a passionate patriot and had a deep love for the Constitution of the United States. He appreciated and loved each of his children and grandchildren and taught them that they would always be happy if they learned to Pray, Serve and Obey.
He is preceded in his graduation from mortality by his parents as well as his sisters and brothers-in-law, Norma and Terry Orchard, June and Marshall Burton, Marjorie and Keith Bringhurst, and Virginia and Albert Stoler. He is also preceded by his brothers and a sister-in-law, J. Paul and Ida Walsh Barlow, Dale, Rex, and Cal Barlow. He was the last surviving member of his generation in the John Clyde Barlow family.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, seven daughters – Allison and Darren Nelson, Leslie and Kepa Zubeldia, Michelle and Travis Stockwell, Brooke and Robert Sweeney, Paige and Preston Davis, Rachel and Eric Willison, and Rebekah and John Guymon. He is also survived by five sons and daughters-in-law, Gary Jr. and Desiree Barlow, Gregory Barlow and former daughter-in-law Carolee Barlow, Anthony Barlow, Jonathan and Wendy Barlow, and Joshua and Carlie Barlow, as well as a sister-in-law, Brenda Baxter Barlow. In addition, he is survived by his many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family would like to acknowledge and express thanks to nurses Fernando and Allison of Symbii Home Health and many other nurses and aides for the kind and tender care of their husband and father during the past fifteen months. In the process of ministering to him physically, they often became friends.
A viewing will be held in the Oak Ridge Ward Chapel at 2250 East 2200 North, Layton, Utah, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 6, 2024. The funeral will follow in the chapel at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be in the Bountiful City Cemetery. Services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page and will play on this obituary page below. The livestream will usually begin 15-20 minutes before the service.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gary Duane Barlow, please visit our flower store.
