Joseph Fjelssted Gundersen
Joseph Fjelsted Gundersen was born on November 24th, 1916 in a small log house near Iona, Bonneville
County, Idaho to Orson Wilford Gundersen and Ingeborg Johanna Terjesen. He was their fifth child. His
was a difficult birth. He was nearly 12 pounds at birth and he had some learning disabilities as a result.
The family moved back to Salt Lake City after the death of Orson’s mother, Ericka Ask Gundersen. They
later inherited her home at 1914 East Gundersen Lane and it has been in the family ever since. Four
more children brought the total of siblings to eight, Edith, Orson, Dorothy, Thomas, Grant, David, and
John. Mary passed away as a small infant of pneumonia. The others have all lived in Holladay, Utah
with the exception of Edith who primarily lived in Washington. Grant later moved to Grantsville, Utah.
Joseph attended Irving Jr. High and later Granite High school. He was a great athlete in high school, but
didn’t graduate. Joseph played all sports, but excelled at track and field. He became the boxing
champion of the State of Utah from Granite High. He also played on his family’s all brother’s basketball
team. They challenged any family teams to compete against them and they beat all comers. Dad was
very proud of his brother’s athletic abilities, many of whom also became state football or wrestling
champions. Dad had several sports related injuries. He broke his elbow ski jumping which kept him
from serving his country during WWII. He sustained a serious head injury in basketball. He also broke
his back in gymnastics.
Joseph served in the Central States Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints from
1943‐45, which included Iowa and Nebraska. He sang on a religious radio program on Sunday mornings
which included duets with a Sister Missionary. He had a wonderful, rich, baritone voice. After returning
home, he encouraged his brother’s to start a barbershop quartet which they excelled at and took state
honors in for more than a generation since his nephew’s have carried on the family tradition. His love of
music is how he met the love of his life, Clara Jean Black. She was a member of a young adult choir
which performed around the Salt Lake City area and after a performance in his home ward in East
Millcreek, afterwards he complimented her and asked her on a date. He was very handsome and a good
dancer. He took her to a dance at the Old Mill and later proposed. They were married in the Salt Lake
Temple on March 3, 1948. He was 32. She was 22. They had three children, Jolynn, Jane and Kevin
Joseph. Unfortunately Jean passed away of cancer in April of 1958. Her untimely death devastated him.
He moved from Draper back to Holladay to enlist the help of his extended family in the care of his family
where he lived from 1959 until 2005 when his home caught fire. He was living in Grantsville at the time
of his death.
Joseph worked at Hill Air Force Base during WWII and sustained a work related brain injury disability
when he was thrown from a truck. It affected the rest of his career. He later worked for Utah Ore
Sampling Company for ten years, working his way up to supervisor before his wife’s death. He later
worked at the University of Utah as a Gardner. He was also employed as a janitor at the Church Office
Building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints for a time. He worked for his father’s
plastering business and later worked for his brother’s construction company. He sustained another
work related injury when he severed all four fingers on his right hand in a table saw accident. They were
reattached surgically, but were crooked thereafter. He also worked as a plumber’s helper.
Joseph married Lillis Baldwin Hansen on March 3, 1964. They had a son, Dalas, born December 3, 1964.
They divorced in 1966. He lost custody of all of his children after the divorce.
When Joseph retired, he became an avid tennis player. He entered several local tournaments and often
won against much younger opponents. He rode a bicycle over 10 miles a day until he was 90.
Joseph had a desire for learning. He bought a set of encyclopedia’s and was determined to read the
entire set, which he did. He read all 26 volumes from cover to cover and had a wealth of knowledge
even though he never completed high school. He also had a love of the scriptures which he gained from
his father. He read the Bible from cover to cover 10 times during his lifetime and was “plowing through
it” again before he passed away. He loved his country and the State of Utah where he lived and died.
He read the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of rights committing much of it to memory.
He also knew all of the presidents of the United States and a lot about each one. He loved studying
history past and present and was up on current events right up to the end of his life. He never lost his
beautiful singing voice and would “croon a tune” at every opportunity without much encouragement
from his family.
Dad was a very unique man who was true to his “beliefs” at any cost and was a person who, because of
his integrity, reflected back the character of anyone with whom he came in contact. He has certainly
earned his place in heaven. We love you Dad and will miss you.
1 comment:
My love and condolences go out to you and your family Deb. BIG HUG!
Post a Comment