Sid Ervine
1936 – 2021
Salina, Utah – Donald Sidney Ervine, our beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle and friend passed away on October 7, 2021.Donald was known to all as Sid. He was born December 24, 1936 to Ray and Hazel Ervine in Sayre, Pennsylvania. He was the 12th child of 13. His mother passed away when he was 14 and 3 months later, at the age of 15, his father passed away. He moved to Waterford, CA where he lived with his brother, Wayne for a year. He then moved to Cathedral City, CA where he lived with his sister, Irene, and graduated from Palm Springs High School in 1955. After graduation he was employed by the Palm Springs School District as a bus driver.
He served in the United States Air Force from 1957-1961. He was stationed at Stead Air Force Base in Reno, NV where he was a Survival Instructor.
He married Ruth Irene Jayne December 12, 1959 in Camptown, PA. Their marriage was solemnized February 9, 1974 in the Los Angeles Temple. She preceded him in death March 1, 2012.
While in Reno their first daughter, Deborah, was born. After his release from the Air Force, they made their home in Desert Hot Springs, CA where their second daughter, Mary, was born. They then moved to Palm Springs, where their son, Donald and daughter, Nancy were born. And he was employed once again by the Palm Springs School District and JC Penny as a tire man. Because of his tenure in the Air Force he was able to obtain special security clearance and was the chauffeur for Lady Byrd Johnson and their daughter, Lucy Baines; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; and the President of Mexico and his wife. He really enjoyed this assignment to be their chauffeur when they came to Palm Springs.
In 1966 he moved his family to 29 Palms, CA where he owned & operated Sid’s Shell Service. Because of his great love for hunting and the outdoors in 1976 he moved his family to Salina, Utah where he owned the Western Auto. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and took the opportunity to hunt big game in several states. He had many favorite fishing spots but Otter Creek seemed to be the one he went to often.
In 1977 he went to work at SUFCO where he remained until his retirement in 1999. After retiring he and Ruth enjoyed spending the winters on his nephew’s date ranch in Coachella, CA where he loved grading, packing and selling dates. They spent many days at different farmers markets in CA and AZ selling dates and made many friends. He loved spending time in the outdoors fishing, camping, hunting and 4 wheeling. He loved and looked forward each September to his nephew’s annual trip to Salina for a week of 4 wheeling. They would be gone from dawn to dusk and put on lots of miles in our beautiful mountains. It never mattered what he was doing if someone wanted to go for a ride on the 4 wheeler he was ready.
Sid took great pride in his beautiful yard and very large garden. You would be hard pressed to find a weed in either. It was the envy of the neighborhood. Sid was very competitive and loved playing Yahtzee, Phase 10 and Marbles. He made over 50 marbles boards and gave them to all his children, grandchildren and many of the nieces and nephews. You never came to visit him without playing a game or two of marbles.
Sid was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many callings thru the years. Sunday school teacher, home teacher; ward clerk, scout leader and temple worker are a few of the callings he held.
Sid is survived by his children, Deborah (Kenny) Poulson, Salina; Mary (Steven) Hoggard, Kaysville; Donald (Belinda) Ervine, Salina; Nancy (Blaine) Porter, Escalante; 19 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren and a sister, Audrey Keefer, Elizabethtown, PA.
He is preceded in death by his wife; great grandson, Kort Ryan Poulson; brothers: Gerald, Wayne, Curtis, & John Delos; sisters: Lucy, Marie, Irene, Myra, Joyce, Anita & KayJean.
Funeral service will be held Saturday, October 16, 2021, at 12:00 Noon in the Salina Creek LDS Ward Chapel, 85 South 100 East in Salina. Friends may call for viewing at the Springer Turner Funeral Home in Salina Saturday morning from 10:00 to 11:30 prior to the services. Live streaming of the services can be viewed at: www.springerturner.com under Sid’s obituary 15 minutes prior to the services.
Burial with military honors accorded by the Salina American Legion Post #36 and the Hill Field Air Force Base Honor Guard will be in the Salina Pioneer Cemetery under the care of the Springer Turner Funeral Home of Richfield and Salina, Utah.
On line guest book at: www.springerturner.com
