Loren Westenskow

Loren Westenskow was born on March 17th, 1946 to Melvin and Rowena Westenskow in the small town of LaGrande, Oregon where he grew up with his 6 siblings. He attended LaGrande High School where he graduated in 1964. He played football, but his true love was basketball where he was a high school stand out.



After high school he decided to serve a 2 year mission for the LDS Church in the Gulf States Mission, spending most of his time in Little Rock, Arkansas.



His high school sweetheart, Valeris Borine, waited for him while he served his mission. Soon after, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Dec 15, 1967. Loren majored in communications at BYU and graduated in 1970.



After college he served his Country as an F4 jet mechanic in the US Air Force. He served from 1970 to 1974, including a year spent overseas in the Philippines.



Loren and Valeris had 4 children, Brad, Karly, Cinda and Dawson. Their first home was Selah, Washington where they lived for 9 years. Loren started his career as a photographer and later owned a studio in Sunnyside. He was very talented and enjoyed his work. In 1985 he made a career change to become a Sales Representative for Syntex Pharmaceuticals. He moved his family to Idaho Falls, Idaho where they lived for 5 years. His successes as a Sales Representative lead to a promotion to management in 1990, which meant a move to Buffalo, New York. They planned on staying for 5 years, but ended up staying for 20. Buffalo truly became their home. At retirement, they decided to move closer to their children and found a beautiful location in Eden, Utah where they currently reside.



Loren served his church in many capacities: Bishopric in Selah, Bishop in Buffalo and a Temple Worker in the Palmyra Temple. Recently, he and Valeris served an English Teaching Service Mission with the Spanish speaking residents of Ogden where they made many friends.



During his life he enjoyed basketball, mountaineering and camping with his family. Later in life his true passion shifted to woodworking. His garage is filled with tools (his car hasn't seen the inside of the garage in years) but our homes are filled with HIS many creations which we will cherish as heirlooms.



Despite many health issues, numerous surgeries and significant physical discomfort during his retirement years, he made every effort to attend all of his grandchildren's athletic events, performances, recitals, blessings, awards and any other activities that were happening with his family. His presence will be sorely missed.



He is survived by his wife Valeris, his children Brad (Jenifer), Karly (Nick), Cinda (Dave), Dawson (Jenn), 12 grandchildren, and his sisters Judy and Marcia. He is preceded in death by his parents Melvin and Rowena, his brothers Duane and Kenny, and his sister Marilou. Services will be held July 2nd at the LDS church on 4279 N 3300 E, Liberty, UT. The Viewing will be between 9:30 - 11:30am, the Funeral at 12:00pm and the Graveside services at Liberty Cemetery.



In lieu of flowers, donations can be made "In memory of Loren" to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.cff.org to help towards a cure for his beloved granddaughter Kate.