1898 - 1981

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• Birth	22 Mar 1898	Lehi,Utah Co.,Utah
  Gender	Male
  Buried	Sep 1981	Lehi,Utah Co.,Utah
  Died	28 Sep 1981	Lehi,Utah Co.,Utah
  Person ID	I89709	Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish
  Last Modified	20 Oct 2005 00:00:00
  Family	Myrl GOODWIN, b. 6 Jun 1896, Lehi,Utah Co.,Utah
  Married	14 Sep 1921	Salt Lake City,Salt Lake Co.,Utah
  Notes	_STATMARRIED
  Children	1. Richard Austin GUDMUNDSEN   2. GUDMUNDSEN   3. GUDMUNDSEN   4. Lois GUDMUNDSEN, b. 28 Mar 1926, Salt Lake City,Salt L,Ut
  Family ID	F39191	Group Sheet

• Notes

  Ancestral File Number: 7PJ7-K7 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF AUSTIN GUDMUNDSEN (An open letter to the members of the Inglewood Stake, written in 1980 by Austin and Myrl.) Austin Gudmundsen was born to Lettie Austin Gudmundsen and Abraham Gudmundsen on March 22, 1898 in Lehi, Utah. He grew to be a studious boy and worked hard to get an education. As a teenager he was Assistant to the Chemist in the Lehi Sugar Factory, helping to further his college education. He attended the University of Utah, the California Institute of Technology at Pasadena, and received his Master's Degree from Carnegie Instituteof Technology, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Austin married Myrl Goodwin ofLehi, Utah, September 16, 1921 in the Salt Lake Temple, and were later blessedwith four children: Richard Austin, Lois (died as a child) , Stanley Edwin,and Ruth. They are grandparents of thirteen, and great-grandparents of two. (as of 1980) When working for the City of Salt Lake, Austin was assigned to the City Engineering Department, but later accepted a position as instructor in the engineering department at the University of Utah. Here he taught for seven years. Austin was active in the church, serving as counselor to Brother Marion G. Romney in the 33rd Ward Sunday School Presidency. In 1929 he (Austin) moved with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he did research atthe United States Bureau of Mines in connection with the Carnegie institute.Upon our arrival in Pittsburgh, we located the church (chapel) and found itbeing reorganized by President Heber J. Grant. President Grant tapped Austinon the shoulder and said, "We want you to be Branch President". We were strangers and knew President Grant only as President of the Church. This was a real challenge (meaning performing research and being Branch President), but theProphet, in setting him apart, promised Austin great success with his studies,which proved to be true and of great value. (Scott A. Gudmundsen Note: Myrl told me that when President Grant told Austin that he wanted him as Branch President, that they had said, "But President, they don't even know us here!"To this, President Grant replied, "But the Lord knows you." It should also benoted that some missionaries asked President Grant for permission to take a photograph of him. He replied in the affirmative, and then touching Richard Gudmundsen, a child of Austin's, on the shoulder, said, "If this little boy canbe in the picture too!" This photograph is a treasured item in the Gudmundsenfamily.) In 1931, Austin accepted a position with A.O. Smith Corporation inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, as a research and development engineer. This was our home for the next sixteen years. While in Milwaukee he was President of the Branch until the mission was organized into a stake by President Heber J. Grant,at the conference in Chicago. President Grant ordained Austin as Bishop of the Milwaukee Ward, and instructed him to always remember that he (Austin) wasthe first Bishop to be ordained in the state of Illinois since the exodus of the saints. Later on, Austin accepted a position with McCullough Motors Corporation and moved with the company to their new home in California. We settled in Inglewood, and after only a few months Austin was made a counselor to President Barlow, serving for more than a year and a half. A division was madein the stake. Austin was set apart as President of the Inglewood Stake by Brother Spencer W. Kimball. His counselors were Brother Lloyd Presturch and Brother William Wooley. Later another division was made. Austin chose Ralph Chalker and Robert Smith as his counselors. These were wonderful years, full of development and progress. When Austin was released, instead of moving to LakeHavesu, Arizona, we moved to Leisure World in Laguna Hills. It proved to be avery happy venture. Austin and I were set apar

• Sources

  [S1557] GEDCOM File : samgodwin.ged, gudmund@easilink.net, (http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GED&db=:ag1175&id=I30), 5 Apr 1998.