Kim E. Samuelson

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the unexpected passing of Kim E. Samuelson on January 2nd, 2024, due to complications of his heart.

Kim was born on March 10, 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Clarence and Idell Samuelson. He was the second of five children, between his brothers Lance and Kevin and his three younger sisters, Nancy, Deanne, and Clare. He grew up in West Bountiful and attended Bountiful Junior High where he met his sweetheart, Regina Anderson, who later became his “Queenie-Bird.”

While attending Bountiful Junior High, Regina’s best friend’s name was Susan who would let her wear her “S” necklace because Kim’s last name was Samuelson. Kim gave Regina a Valentine’s Day card that said “for Valentine’s lets play post office with a little more horsing around.” They liked each other a lot and Kim also liked his horse a lot! His horse was named Shorty and he even let Regina ride Shorty. But the horse ran away with Regina on his back and she didn’t like Shorty anymore! Their love that began during their Junior High years, continued to flourish throughout high school, marking the start of a lifetime of devotion.

After graduating from Bountiful High School, Kim was called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where he labored in the England, South Hampton Mission. His mission experience deepened his faith and his love for the Savior. Shortly after returning from his mission, Kim and Regina were married in the Salt Lake Temple on September 18th, 1968. They started their life together in a single-wide trailer and relocated to Logan where they both attended Utah State University.

While in Logan, their first son, Christopher was born and two years later Nichole joined the family. After graduating from Utah State University, Kim was accepted to dental school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri where his third child, Ashley was born.

After four years, the family moved back to Salt Lake City where they graduated from a single-wide to a double-wide trailer, things were looking up.

His dental career began with very humble beginnings with him splitting time between two practices one of which was in Milford, UT, where he would commute 6 hours round trip and work on the weekends. After several years of doing that and saving money, he decided to hang his own shingle in Bountiful, in a small one room office that he rented from his father-in-law. At this point Kim and Regina were blessed with their fourth child, Jacob.  After several years practicing in Bountiful, he moved to a larger office in Centerville that he shared with several other dentists. 

With years of hard work and saving, he was finally able to acquire property on Main Street in Centerville, where he designed and built his own building. Kim was very hands on and insisted on doing much of the work himself.  Over the course of his 42 year career he really learned to perfect his craft and prided himself in the quality of the work he produced. He is a perfectionist. He also loved to learn of and implement new cutting-edge techniques for better patient outcomes.

Dad really wanted to be a rancher and farmer. If he thought that he could’ve convinced Regina he would’ve done it in a second. They were fortunate to acquire property in Centerville and that became the compromise, a mini ranch. His first big acquisition for the mini ranch was a tractor that was 5 times bigger than it needed to be but he didn't care, he loved it. Over the years, he continued to acquire more machinery and tools and one of his greatest loves in life was to use his tools to help neighbors, family and friends with various projects.

Dad loved to serve. If you had to say what was Kim’s greatest legacy in this life, it was his love of serving people. 

Kim loved spending time with his family and enjoyed so many adventures together.

Many summers were spent either at Lake Powell or Moab exploring literally as much of the lake and trails as humanly possible. He was known for his long days, often into the night, just wondering what was around the corner. Many winters were spent exploring as much mountain range as possible and as fast as his snowmobile would allow. Dad's excursions were intricately planned, consistently incorporating a motorized element; lounging on the beach was not his idea of fun.

Dad was a devout, faithful, and hard-working member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loved his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He loved serving in the church and would be there for anyone at the drop of a hat. He held many positions in the church including: bishop, bishopric counselor, stake high councilor and numerous other positions. Most recently he spent two years serving in Nebraska and Wyoming with his wife doing a service mission where they made many close friends and performed countless acts of service. While serving on a ranch in Kansas with 2,000 cows in his backyard he finally fulfilled his dream of becoming a rancher and farmer. Many have asked if they were sad that they didn’t learn a new language, but they did learn a language and it was called Moo. Kim and Regina grew very close during this time and wouldn’t trade it for the world. Dad lived a rich and full life and he will be sorely missed.

Kim is survived by his wife, Regina, and their children and grandchildren: Chris (wife Holly, children Piper and Presley); Nichole (husband Matt, children Jamon, Mitchell , Jory and Brittney); Ashley (husband Justen, children Ellie, Aliva, Madsen and Mckay); Jacob (wife Jana, children Kaiden, Maggie, Macy, Kallen and Myla); siblings Lance, Kevin, Nancy, Deanne and Clare; and many in-laws, nieces, nephews, friends and family too numerous to list but not forgotten. Kim is preceded in death by his father and mother, Clarence and Idell Samuelson, his granddaughter Millee and many other family members with whom he is now reunited.

Viewings will be held Sunday, January 7, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Monday, January 8, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Canyon View Chapel, 210 East 1825 North, Centerville, Utah. Funeral services celebrating Kim’s life will begin in the chapel at 11:00 a.m on Monday, January 8, 2024. Interment services will follow at the Centerville City Cemetery. A luncheon for family members will follow at the Canyon View Chapel, 210 East 1825 North, Centerville, Utah at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page and on this obituary page.  The live stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the service and will be posted below.