Laval Junior Atkinson

April 25, 1943 ~ December 25, 2006

OGDEN, Utah -

After months of research by multiple team members, the class In Memory Project has concluded no obituary was published for Laval Atkinson. The below compiles the scattered bits info gathered from school records, public documents and news articles while seeking a more complete story, and includes no personal input from anyone who knew him after he attended Weber High. 

The fragments reveal Laval had problems in his personal life and with the law.  For perspective the two instances of legal charges discovered below cover a single three week period when he was 31.

So while there is more to Laval’s life of 63 years than posted here, we lack any sources that put him in broader context as a person.

Any further submissions about Laval'is life would be appreciated.

Laval Junior Atkinson was born April 25, 1943 in Weber County, Utah. His cemetery headstone lists his death date as December 25, 2006 while the Social Security Administration has a date of January 1, 2007.  We have no information about his cause of death.

We believe his parents were Junior Lester Atkinson who passed away in 1978 and Mary Vilate (Valarie) 1920 – 1964, but this is not fully confirmed.  We also think he had no siblings, but again, this is based on our not finding any records of any sibs and not on a family or other account.

Living in North Ogden, he graduated from Wahlquist Jr. High in 1959, and attended Weber High School where he is noted as participating in Track.  His nickname at Weber, according to Classmates was “Atky” or “Acki”

At Wahlquist, 1959                                  At Weber, 1962 (Laval is third from left)             

One Classmate remembers playing church basketball with Laval, and also noted he knew Laval had “a hard home life.”

Laval married Betty Jean Osmond on December 23, 1968 in Elko, Nevada.  They divorced in April of 1972 based on a complaint by Betty Jean, however they reconciled and were re-married on August 11, 1972, in Weber County, Utah.  The couple divorced again, date unknown, however records indicate that Laval married Cynthia Obray in Elko, Nevada on December 29, 1978.

In between his second marriage to Betty Jean and his Marriage to Cynthia, Laval was charged with two store robberies, both for small amounts of money, during a three week period in 1974.  The details we know are as follows:

In early September of 1974, Laval was arrested in Ogden for aggravated robbery at a 7-11 Store on 725 40th Street, and he was later charged in connection with an August 19, 1974  robbery at the Mountain Oil Service Station on 506 26th Street in Ogden. The total amount alleged to be stolen between the two robberies was $112.00.

We know he was convicted of at least one charge and served approximately two years of jail time, because the Salt Lake Tribune reported on August 30, 1975 that he would "receive parole" on August 9, 1977.

We also believe Laval and Cynthia later divorced as searches for her current whereabouts show a different last name and indications she remarried.

Laval was apparently also the father of several children, but our information is again unconfirmed and efforts to contact either of his former wives or any of these possible descendants have been unsuccessful, so we will not list any non-verified biodata here.

Laval was interred in Franklin Cemetery in Franklin County Idaho in 2007.

1961 Golden Spike

The Class of ’62 Committee expresses its appreciation for all the efforts made to gather information for this incomplete page.  Thanks go to Wendy Simmons Johnson, daughter of Classmates Serge Simmons and Jane Chugg Renstrom, to Classmates Earl Henstra, James Keller, Tom and Sandra Garner Grimm and others who’ve participated.  Page posted: 7/25/2012

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