Obituary of Edwin Clegg

Edwin Clegg was born on November 26, 1929 in Tabiona, Utah to Ervan Clegg and Ethel May Ivie. Edwin spent his young years in “Tabby,” where he attended both grade school and high school. During the depression, his family lived in Pacific Beach where he enjoyed fishing in the wetlands we now call Mission Bay. Eventually Edwin returned to Tabiona where he graduated high school while living with his sister Deon and her family. Edwin met Veva Miles, his wife of nearly 68 years, at a basketball game where “he was looking for a girlfriend.” In Veva, Edwin found the love of his life and they were married on April 22, 1949. Edwin and Veva had 5 children: Sammy, Veva Jean, Donna Lee, Michael Edwin and Linda May. They lived in Orem, Salt Lake City and Tabiona, Utah, and eventually moved to Spring Valley and finally settled in Blossom Valley, California. Early in his career, Edwin worked on a pipeline. Then he was hired by the Veterans Administration in Salt Lake, where he worked as a carpenter, hod-carrier, and was eventually promoted to a skip loader operator for approximately$1.85/hour. In the winter of 1952 Edwin and Veva welcomed their first daughter, Veva-Jean, , and moved to San Diego. Initially Edwin took up jobs in the laborers’ and carpenters’ unions. Later he worked on his own and made a game out of avoiding union dues and picketers with his partner in crime, Chester Fannin (who occasionally paid his dues). In the mid-1960s, Edwin attended night school until he finally earned his General Contractors License. Together, Edwin and Chester built many custom homes, apartments and duplexes in the San Diego area. Most of these properties still exist today. After 1981, Edwin was able to work mostly for himself. His children all helped him in his business. His hard work allowed him to help his sisters, his children, and many of his nieces and nephews build their first homes. Edwin and his son Mike worked together building homes in San Diego County. Before building duplexes in the early 80s, Edwin built homes just about everywhere in town. They built from Valley Center to Boulevard, including a street of homes on Mt. Helix, as well as Coronado Island. Both Edwin and Chester were staples at La Mesa Lumber, where the yard kids still ask how they are faring and are amazed to hear the two are still kicking. Edwin always counted on Mike to take care of everything when he was gone, which was never more prevalent than while working on Megan Court. Edwin had an appendicitis attack and Mike was thrown in charge at barely 20. Throughout the years, Mike would look to Edwin for approval and once he proved himself, Mike was tasked with more and more duties. In the early days, he developed skills with both the backhoe and bulldozer. Later, he would carry those skills into unit maintenance. Edwin and Mike were the best of friends that will continue their legacy through Mike, Mikey and Cannon, who can’t wait to work with both his Papa and Daddy. When he finally built the home of Veva’s dreams in January of 1999, they retired to Blossom Valley. Although he “retired” he continued to build spec-homes with his Grandson’s Paul and Shannon Dierkop. He planted orange, avocado, walnut and pecan trees, and every summer he planted an extensive garden of tomatoes, peppers, radishes, carrots, corn and other varieties. Having grown up in high elevation with short summer growing season, Edwin loved living in the San Diego area and being able to grow extended varieties. Besides his love for Veva, Edwin’s lifetime passions included his garden, fishing, hunting, traveling, spending time with family and his Mormon Faith. He has fished from the tip of Baja to Alaska and every good fishing spot in between. He also loved crabbing in Oregon and hunting abalone off the coast of San Diego. He regularly took overnight fishing charters and caught varieties of tuna, which he would can fresh at home or at the LDS Cannery. When the Alacan Highway opened, he took his wife, three of his children and his parents to Alaska. During his lifetime, Edwin traveled to Alaska seven times and had the opportunity to hunt moose on an Alaskan island. As long as Edwin was able, he returned to Tabiona every year for deer hunting season. He loved getting out in the woods with his sister Deon’s boys: : Duane, Keith, Clyde, Steve, Aaron and Ervan. He loved trekking through the hills and flushing out the deer. Besides a deer, every year he would “kill a beef” and they would have their own butcher and packing party at his parents’ home in Tabiona. Edwin and Deon took many family vacations together to places like Yellowstone Park. As a father, Edwin continued that tradition and took his family, his sisters and their families, and his parents on annual fishing trips to Mexico. For example, when Highway 1 to the tip of Baja opened, Edwin couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take his family on a two-week spring break trip to Cabo, a tiny un-chartered fishing village at that time. Edwin also loved to fish in San Felipe, Mexico and he and his family later built a vacation home in the area. He was an early explorer in places like Cabo San Lucas, Los Angeles Bay, Mulege, Loreto and Conception Bay. His love of fishing was so great, one Spring he took his extended family to Gonzaga Bay. It took a whole day plus to get there from San Felipe at that time, (it now takes 4 hours) over treacherous mountains known as the 3 sisters. It was well worth the Journey to find a pristine Bay where you could catch a fish with every cast. He would rig a pole for the kids with 3-4 bait hooks and when they reeled it in, it would be loaded with fish. Corvina, White Sea Bass, Sheephead to name a few. The trips were amazing times for all who went along and are still remembered, talked and laughed about today. Edwin and Veva spent many family vacations in San Felipe and other places with their daughter Veva Jean and her family. When in San Felipe, Edwin loved to fish of the rocks, and if you could swim, you would be called upon to unhook his Lure when it was caught on the rocks. The Thing family took them to some far away places, including Cancun, Hawaii, and motorhome trips to Utah and Yellowstone. Karen and Marsha’s favorite memories of Grandpa Ed were that he couldn’t pass an ocean a lake, a river, or a stream without stopping, and every vacation involved his fishing pole. In his later days, he wouldn’t bait his own hook or unhook his catch. If you were in the vicinity you had better watch out. As soon as you would have a fish unhooked he would wave the tip of his pole aimlessly until someone would bait it. Jean, Frank, Karen and Marsha loved these adventures with him, and wouldn’t have had it any other way. Their other memories are of visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Not only did they love the company, but they always had a freezer full of ice cream, a piece or two of candy and one of those “nickels.” Sitting next to him in church, he would always rub his knee. He never spoke an ill word about anyone. He was a great example of a kind, giving, generous and loving person and we should all strive to be like him. He and Veva loved to travel. Beyond their multiple trips to Mexico and Alaska, they were able to visit Guatemala when Edwin’s brother Lee and his brother’s wife Elaine Clegg returned from their mission. They spent a month enjoying the Islands of Hawaii. They also took an extended trip to New Zealand and Australia. They loved fishing and meeting the local people. He loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren. One of his favorite things was for them to visit him, when they did, he always gave them a “nickel,” which was actually a $5 bill. Edwin’s daughter, Donna, moved to Utah in the early 1990’s and he always enjoyed visiting his Utah family for reunions and on Memorial Day. Edwin especially supported his granddaughter Jennifer, who attended BYU. He was also very proud of his youngest grandson Justin who served an LDS mission, and his granddaughter Jessica who is a Registered Nurse. In his later days, he helped his Grandson Shannon, open a restaurant. Once it opened it was his favorite thing to go there for Taco Tuesday, they “had the best Shrimp Tacos around.” His daughters Linda and Jean took him regularly, but then his granddaughter Michelle became his chauffeur. Beyond his grandchildren, he loved his NCAA sports. He was always a College Basketball and Football Fan, and he watched many games each season. His favorite team was BYU and he had a friendly rivalry with his daughter Linda and their SDSU team. Each year comparing teams and games. If you wanted to talk to him during basketball season, you better have watched the game so you could keep up with he and Veva’s knowledge of the game and the players. His love for NCAA led him to find great joy in watching his granddaughters, Kirsten, Kari and Kimmy, play high school and NCAA water polo. He attended most of the home games at SDSU and traveled to Santa Barbara and ASU to watch their teams as well. He was very proud of the girls. He was very proud of his grandchildren and very happy that many of them had attended college. He had always wanted to be an Engineer but didn’t have the ability to attend himself. He was overjoyed to go to Santa Barbara and watch his granddaughter Kari graduate. He was proud of all of their college achievements from Kirsten obtaining a master’s degree from Santa Cruz, Kari getting a Master’s from SDSU, to Kimmy getting her teaching credential. He was very proud of their achievements. In addition to his love for his family and sport, Edwin had a deeply held religious conviction. In the 1970’s, Edwin was called to the Bishopric of the Spring Valley first Ward, where first he served under Merlon Alcorn. While serving as Counselor, Edwin spent many hours laying brick at night and on the weekends and was instrumental in building the church’s new Building on Sweetwater Springs Blvd. in Spring Valley. Edwin was later called as the Bishop himself and served five years in the Spring Valley First Ward. As Bishop, he presided over many weddings and baptisms. He loved the people and was always helping someone out. At Christmas he would personally buy gifts and food for those members who couldn’t afford the kind of Christmas he was able to provide for his own family. He would have his daughters drop items off on on church members’ front porches, ring the doorbells and run off so that no-one would know where it came from. Still today, many of the members of his Ward will meet one of his children and recall a story of his generosity and love for his members. In 1980, Edwin was released from the Bishopric. He is survived by his wife Veva Miles, his Children Veva Thing, Donna McNew, Mike Clegg, and Linda Keach. His grandchildren Paul Dierkop, Shannon Dierkop, Karen Thing-Sabin, Marsha Thing-Poppert, Jennifer McNew-Dean, Jessica McNew-Rikli, Justin McNew, Michael Clegg Jr., Michelle Clegg-Fry, Kirsten, Kimmy and Kari Keach. His 26 great grandchildren, Britney Dierkop, Brenna Dierkop-Butts, Brooke and Brady Dierkop, Nick, Lauren and Seth, Gabe, Molly, and Cora Dierkop, Kali, Ryder and Slater Sabin, Landyn, Corbyn, Grayson, and Dawson Poppert, Ryan and Evan Dean, Emry and Jax Rikli, Delaney, Lathan and Ensley Fry and Cannon and Copper Clegg. Edwin and Veva also have two great-great grandchildren, Kambrea Grill and Juliana Butts. He is preceded in death by his son Sammy Clegg, his parents Ervan Clegg and Ethel May Ivie, and his siblings, Ervan Leland Clegg, Dionne Rhoades, Lois Crocker and Leone Brown.