Arleen Love Lewallen

A.J. and Arleen Lewallen left this world together after 63 years of marriage. A.J. passed away on
August 17, closely followed by Arleen just 24 hours later on August 18. Their passing together
is just one of many tender mercies experienced during their lives together.
A.J. was born April 14, 1940 in El Centro, California to Floyd Andrew Lewallen and Bertha Irene
Dobbs. He was the second youngest child of nine children, and he was the youngest boy. His
early years were spent in El Centro, where he earned a perfect attendance award through early
high school. At the age of 17, A.J. made his way to Utah where he met Arleen, the love of his
life, while dragging Washington Blvd. in Ogden, Utah. They were married on June 19, 1958 in
Layton, Utah and moved to Nevada in 1960, where they became proud Las Vegas residents
embarking on many adventures from their desert home.
In his early twenties, A.J. developed a love for construction—following his brothers Shelby and
MC—and built a successful career in both residential and commercial building. He
was a longtime member of the Carpenters Local 1977 Union in Las Vegas, and he worked on
many projects throughout the area, including many hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. His career
took him to various places beyond Las Vegas including Northern Utah, an air force base in
Colorado Springs, a hotel in Alaska, and construction sites in California. He even built two
homes that he and his family lived in.
Arleen Love was born September 8, 1938 in Layton, Utah, to George Hugh Love and Maud
Webb James. She was the youngest of seven children and enjoyed growing up on her parent's
farm where she learned the value of hard work and getting an early start to her day. Throughout
Arleen's life, she never strayed from the habit of getting to bed early and starting her day at the
crack of dawn. Arleen had a deep love for family and maintained close relationships with her
extended family members always eager to hear about every achievement and special family
events. A highlight in Arleen's life was meeting A.J. at the age of 19 and embarking on a lifetime
of adventure by his side and proudly raising their growing family.
She was a homemaker, staying busy with four children: Joyce Lewallen (Lecia Johnson),
Sandra (Matthew Southerland), Jerry Lee—deceased 2016, and Bruce Jeffery (Kathleen Bolger
—deceased 2013). She later worked in housekeeping at the King 8 Hotel with some of her best
friends. She sent her paychecks to her daughters at college. She loved her family more than
anything, and she was very proud of each of her kids.
A great moment of joy for A.J. and Arleen occurred when they were eternally sealed in the
Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple on June 19, 2004, their 46th wedding anniversary. They
enjoyed many outdoor activities including time camping and fishing at Panguitch Lake and
relaxing at their cabin near Lake Mead. A special memory is of their cruise to Alaska with Joyce
and Lecia.
They are survived by two of A.J.'s sisters, three children, eight grandchildren, and eight (soon to
be nine) great-grandchildren.
As family, we are so very grateful for their lifetime of love and sacrifice. We also want to thank
the many health care workers who compassionately took care of our parents until their
passing: Welbrook Rehabilitation, Southwest Medical Hospice Care, Summerfield Assisted
Living, and Envision Home Health & Hospice. A special thank you to Nate and Gwen.