O. Bryan "Bry" Wilkinson Obituary (1938 - 2018)

O. Bryan “Bry” Wilkinson passed away peacefully August 26, 2018 in South Jordan, Utah surrounded by his family. Bry was born on March 19, 1938 in Salt Lake City, Utah to O.J. and Edna Mae Wilkinson. In 1953, as a 15 year old, Bry started his long time career in the car business as a “lot boy” at Zion Motors in Murray, Utah. After graduating from Murray High in 1956, Bry went on to BYU. In 1958, Bry was called to serve a mission for the LDS church in Great Britain. Those two years were a special time yielding many blessings and a great deal of sales training. Bry married Ida Jean Alger in September of 1961, and together they had 4 children. Although they later divorced, they continued to be friends and enjoy their children and grandchildren. In 1972, Bry became the dealer of Cottonwood Chrysler Plymouth. He served as President of the National Chrysler Plymouth Dealer Council and traveled often to Washington D.C. with Lee Iacocca and Douglas Fraser on behalf of Chrysler Corporation. In 1982, Bry served as President of the Utah Automobile Dealers Association, and in 1983 he was named Time Magazine Quality Dealer for Utah. Bry and his family opened the Heritage Acura and Heritage Honda dealerships in Salt Lake and Heritage Honda in St. George. Bry served in many callings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but mostly enjoyed working with the youth and missionary work. Some of his favorite pastimes were golf, basketball, watching sports, and he was an avid reader. Bry touched and blessed the lives of many through various acts of service. He had a great sense of humor and always had great stories and jokes to share. He thoroughly enjoyed watching his grandchildren in all of their performances and sporting events. Bry is survived by his sister, Sue Noren; brother, Jody (Anne) Wilkinson; children – Wendy (Jeff) Gorringe, Matt Wilkinson, Jeff “JJ” (Lesa) Wilkinson, and Lynlee (Chad) Booth; 14 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren and 1 on the way; and his nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his Father, O.J. Wilkinson, and his Mother, Edna Mae Bryan Wilkinson. Many thanks to the caring staff at Sagewood at Daybreak and to his friends and neighbors Lewis and Duard for their constant love and care these last few months. A viewing for friends and family will be held at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary, 4760 South State Street Murray, Utah on Thursday, September 6, 2018 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. At Bry’s request a private family graveside service will be held.