Darrell Lake Brimhall

(June 15, 1932-October 2, 2018        

 Darrell Lake Brimhall was born June 15, 1932 in Taylor, Arizona. He was the sixth of eight children born to Joe and May Brimhall - Jocie Tenney, Ted, LaRene Tuley, Twila Denee, Larry, Winona Gordon, and Sonya Shaw. All his siblings are deceased except Twila.  He passed away peacefully in the early morning of October 2, 2018 at the age of 86.

He is survived by his beloved sweetheart of 65 years, Hazel Pearl Bryant Brimhall. Together they have 6 sons, Brian (Gwen), Gary (Sarah), Brett (deceased), Danny (Kathy-deceased, Karin), Doug (Jeanette), and Greg (Missy) and 5 daughters, Lori (Keith Dunford), Sandy (Bryan Patel), Julie (deceased), Joni (Kelvin Taylor), and Alicia (Bill LaDuke). He has 52 grandchildren and 64 great-grandchildren who loved and adored their sweet grandpa.  He loved his siblings, in-laws, and nephew and nieces and was a favorite uncle.

Darrell grew up helping his dad on their farm in Taylor; this ingrained a love of farm life in his heart for the rest of his life. He fell in love with Hazel at first sight while in Jr. High School when he saw her at a track meet.  They went to school together and usually sat by each other due to their last names both starting with "Br".  The highlight of his day was when she would pinch his arm or pull the hairs on his arm; he was whipped.  They graduated from Snowflake High School in 1950 and after several years of courting her, he finally convinced her to be his forever and they were married in 1953 in the Mesa, Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was drafted by the Army and served from 1955-57, serving in Ft. Knox and Germany. He had a deep love and appreciation for our freedoms and country and was a true patriot.

After honorably serving his country and completing his duty with the US Army, Darrell returned home and worked for Western Moulding for a few years. Later he started a business, Brimhall Sand and Rock, with his two older brothers, Ted and Larry.  He was an incredibly hard worker and often worked long hours and made many sacrifices. 

Darrell loved to serve others and his community. He was on the school board and often donated time or material to help the community.  He was a faithful life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many capacities.  He was a beloved bishop, and loved working with the youth and young adults and had a huge influence in the lives of many young men, women, and families.  He always put everything he had into his church responsibilities.  He was a faithful and wonderful home teacher. 

Darrell is well known for his cooking skills. He visited Hawaii in the '70s and after that visit came home and figured out how to make his famous guava ice cream. He loved to make it for his family, friends, neighbors, and youth. Thousands have enjoyed his guava ice cream.  He was also well known for his Dutch-oven cooking and made amazing biscuits with green chili gravy and fried potatoes, onions, and bacon. For years he would make this for the Groundhog Day breakfast.  He would often make breakfast for his kids, and tried to convince them his cowboy cereal (cracked wheat) was better than the dog food (sugary cereals), that they preferred.  He loved to help cook and could often be found helping with dinner or doing dishes in the kitchen.

His second love in life was his mules and wagon. He was often teased that he was born in the wrong century. He had a lot of fun taking his grandkids on rides in the wagon or taking them Christmas caroling, and he did this for many years. He felt mules were superior to horses and had many different mules throughout the years.  He went on long trek rides and hunting trips with family and friends and was truly in his element riding mules and Dutch-oven cooking. He also had a deep love for the earth and the land. He planted a large orchard which he loved to work in.  Many fun family times were spent picking apples and then making apple cider from the apples in his orchard.  He loved to go out there and water his trees and feed his mules.

He really encouraged his children to develop their talents, especially musically. He loved to hear his kids and grandkids perform for him.  He was so supportive of his children in their pursuits and loved watching and cheering them on when he could.  He had a gift of making everyone feel loved; he coined the phrase "love em along" in the family.

Darrell was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and special friend to many and was kind and generous to all he met. His example of love, generosity, humility, empathy, service, and charity will be a legacy that his family will always treasure and hold dear.  His example will always be a light for all to follow and he was truly one of the greats.  He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.  Families are forever.  We love you, Dad.

The Public Viewing & Friends Calling will be from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, October 12, 2018 at the Centennial Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 9^th S. 2^nd West in Snowflake, AZ.  The Funeral Service will begin at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Centennial Stake Center where additional visitation will be from 9:00 to 10:45 A.M. Interment will immediately follow at the R.V. “Mike” Ramsay Memorial Cemetery in Snowflake, Arizona.