Pete Memmott

Pete Memmott is finally back with his beloved Sharlene, after 259 long days apart. He passed away, in his home, surrounded by his girls and grandchildren on Saturday, February 21, 2026.

Pete was born on March 30th, 1939 in Lavan, UT to James Arthur Memmott and Vinnie Elizabeth Angell Memmott, in his grandmother’s house. He was the 8th of 9 children.

Pete spent his childhood in Lavan and Nephi, causing lots of trouble. He spoke with fondness of his time as a child, but he lived a very hard childhood. Nothing was easy for him, as a child. His sister passed away from pneumonia when he was 4. His father died of alcoholism when he was 9. He had 2 brothers that were POWs in WWII. Thankfully those brothers got to come home, alive! Hard times. But the biggest challenge and blessing was caring for his sweet mother, who was crippled up from Polio. He was rarely in school because he needed to take care of his mom, who would change diapers with her teeth, because of her crippled arm. As a result of Pete not being in school, he never learned to read or write. Later in his childhood, he was taken under the wing of Ina Morgan, his “foster mom”. He would speak of her with a tender tone. A business woman, she put him to work and he thrived. Pete’s family was so poor as a child, that he never remembered owning a toy. For Christmas, he would recieve a pair of overalls because it was like a shirt and pants. He hated overalls as an adult and never wore them. His childhood was filled with all the trouble an unsupervised little boy could get into, including stealing “smokes” from his friend’s store in Lavan and smoking them in the wash. He was pretty proud of himself for never getting caught, even though he was chased after, many times!

Pete met Sharlene while hanging out with friends one night, where he proudly told her, “I told myself that the next girl I meet, I'm going to marry!” AND HE DID! He fell hard for that Sanpete girl! They married on Dec. 12, 1958 and started having babies right away! Tisha, Brenda, Cindy and Blanche! 4 babies in less than 4 years! To say they were in love is an understatement! Pete joined the Army National Guard during that time, to help support his growing family. He was a cook After six short years, Sharlene told him that she couldn’t handle him being away anymore and he left the Guard. He held many jobs and they moved around quite frequently. He was a meat cutter, and while he was not a large man, he was incredibly strong. During those years, they bounced around to several towns before landing in Richfield for a few years. That’s where Launa was born. He was working at Safeway as a meat cutter and they needed someone in St. George. So in 1969, with a newborn and 4 other girls, they packed up and moved to St. George. He loved St. George!

Pete and Sharlene started a few successful businesses. A parcel delivery service, a security business, and his famous Pete’s taxi! He would tell stories about those businesses, that made that time sound like the wild wild west! One of the craziest stories of the security business was when there was a local business that was being burglarized regularly. They hired Pete to keep an eye on it. One night, he caught the burglar. It was a local highway patrolman. That was quite an event! He loved owning the taxi. Talking to people and serving people is where he thrived! Pete was also a bus driver and custodian for the Washington County School District. Most of his time, he spent at Dixie high school as a custodian. He absolutely loved that job! He loved playing pranks on the staff and took great pride in doing a job well. He babied the baseball field for decades. He loved the energy of the kids at the school! All the kids adored him and his coworkers loved him! His daughters have fun memories of going to school, where their dad was a custodian! If any of us tried to ditch class, he always knew! We would hear his keys jingle, and we knew we were busted! The good news is, if we were going to the store, a Pepsi would make him turn his head the other way, and he would allow it! After over 25 years at Dixie high school, he went to West Elementary for a couple of years before retiring from Snow Canyon High School. He continued to drive bus for a few years off and on. He loved everyone down at the bus barn. He enjoyed retirement but needed to stay busy, so he became a courtesy clerk at Lin’s on Sunset! He loved the social aspect of that job!

In 1976, Hope joined the family and finalized the count at six girls, and no boys! If anyone ever expressed sympathy to Pete for having all girls and no boys, he would correct them quickly. He absolutely loved his girls and never had a desire to have boys. He was a OG “girl dad”. Plus, he got sons-in-law and he really loved them! Lots and lots of grandkids started coming after Hope’s birth! When you have six girls, you have a lot of grandchildren! He was so present as a grandpa! Attending every game, recital, science fair, dudes and donuts, camping, fishing and so much more! He baptized and blessed many of his grandchildren. Boy, did he love all his grandchildren! He was thrilled to have his grandson, Josh born on his birthday! He even has one grandson that shares his name! “Little Pete” is named after the best!

Pete and Sharlene loved camping. They’d take “Pete’s Nut Hut” (their trailer) out camping, all over Utah! They spend many years camping and working for the Forest Service on the Manti La Sal. They treasure the friendships and memories made while there.

Pete was a true friend. If you knew him, you loved him and he loved you. He wasn’t one for holding a grudge. His quick whit and fun personality drew everyone in. He always had a joke or funny story to share. He would get a little twinkle in his eye when he was about to deliver a punchline. He didn’t like mean people or hate. Confrontation made him very uncomfortable. His light was a true gift to this world. Pete loved living in St. George and raising his girls, here. He would say often, while out on drives with Hope, that he was sad for the people who would never get to see the beauty of the St. George area.

Pete was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. While not being a very religious man, he hoped that what he was always taught, was true. He loved his home teaching years with Jeff Brinkerhoff. They may as well have called it their visiting teaching, because they loved to visit! True ministering is what was important to them!

Pete is survived by his girls, Tisha (Dennis) Butcher of Moroni, Cindy Hyde of St. George, Wilma Blanche (Michael) Barnum of Orem, Launa (JR) Farnsworth of Washington and Hope (Randy) Clyde of St. George. Many grandchildren, great grandchildren and some great great grandchildren! His sister Kitty Cole and brother Hela Memmott.

He is preceded in death by the love of his life and eternal companion, who he missed so deeply, Sharlene. Their daughter Brenda Leavitt and son-in-law Charles Rob Hyde. He was very excited to reunited with his mom and his dear brothers and sisters, Dave, May, Art, Dan, Tom and Rose.

The girls would like to thank Tammy, Michelle and the rest of the Renew Hospice crew for treating our dad with such dignity and respect. They were so sweet and amazing! Also, a little shout out to his Meals on Wheels girl, Ariann. She was the highlight of his day!

• Funeral services will be at the LDS chapel at 166 S Main Street. St. George, UT 84770
• Viewing Thursday, Feb. 26th 6-8pm
• Viewing Friday, Feb. 27th 9am-10:30am
• Funeral Friday Feb. 27th 10:30am

Internment will take place at the St. George City Cemetery, east block.