Lane Richins Fawcett

Lane Richins Fawcett, our devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, was reunited with his Heavenly Father, his parents, and wife (Elaine) on March 22, 2026. He battled progressive lung disease over the past several years but remained steadfast to his deep commitment to family, keeping our traditions intact, despite his growing health challenges.

Dad was born in Ogden, Utah, on October 28, 1947, to Joe and Mary Fawcett. He was the first of eight children (siblings include Joel, Alan, Nolan, Londo, Evan, Marybeth, Rozanne) and grew up in Henefer, Utah. He and his siblings worked a sheep ranch business with their father on their family’s land, as well as rotations in the west desert and the Uintah Mountains. He learned from his father and mother, early on, the importance of hard work and devotion to family—a mindset he instilled within his own future children. He did have the capacity to be a little mischievous in his youth, however, such as the time he started a fire in English class and was consequently kicked out and required to perform in the school musical (South Pacific), as punishment. While English classes and singing Broadway tunes may not have been within his wheelhouse, he did excel in athletics—football and basketball, in particular. In fact, he won the State Championship in the Utah B Football Division in 1964, as part of the offensive line.

Lane and Elaine Ovard grew up in the same small town of Henefer, went to school together, shared a party line (telephone) and became an official couple at Junior Prom at North Summit High School. They wrote weekly letters to each other while Lane served a mission to the Northern States Indian Mission in Montana. Dad proposed to Mom immediately upon his return, as he didn’t have a place of his own, or a car, and SHE did. (Although he quickly discovered, to his dismay, the car was not paid off.) They got married on December 12, 1968, in the Salt Lake Temple and subsequently moved to Illinois for dad’s first job out of college, upon receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Weber State College School of Tech in data processing (during the dawning of the computer age). He also served in the Army Reserves before returning to Utah, where they made Bountiful their permanent home. Between their time in Illinois and Utah, they welcomed five children into their lives: Brad, Darin, Leslie, Natalie, and Melanie.

Lane worked as the Director of Information Systems at Bonneville International and Beneficial Life for 35 years and was also a golf marshal at Lakeside Golf Course after retirement. Predicated upon his own experiences with his family and life on the ranch, he instilled a strong work ethic within his children, while they were still young. He made them unstack and restack the woodpile in the backyard (despite the fact we never used the wood), mow the lawn, trim the hedges, pick up rotten apricots off the grass, and help with his passion–gardening. He loved tending to his peach trees, tomatoes, raspberry bushes and rows of corn, and taught us all the importance of enjoying the (literal) fruits of one’s labor. He also had a unique talent as a photographer, as he was only capable of taking the WORST pictures possible of his family members, then enlarging them to put on blankets, mugs, decks of playing cards and birthday cards.

Dad loved spending time with his family and creating cherished memories and traditions. He planned many vacations along the California coast, to national parks, as well as taking the entire family to Hawaii for his 50th wedding anniversary. He also traveled abroad to over 20 different countries with Elaine, oftentimes visiting children and grandchildren along the way. Most notably, he taught all of his kids and grandkids the importance of “significant prizes” for family competitions that he personally designed for us, such as: March Madness pools, Easter egg hunts, July 4th golf tournaments, Thanksgiving bingo, and a highly coveted coloring contest. (He personally won one of those contests by coloring a single stalk of corn.) Dad ultimately provided unique opportunities for his family to bond, to have fun, to be creative, to be athletic and strategic, and above all, to keep us close. He also continued one of his own most memorable childhood traditions, spearheaded by his grandfather Otto—a Christmas Eve program full of stories, music, and gifts.

Lane loved and lived the gospel. He was a true testament of living out his faith and fulfilled many church callings over the years, including positions within several bishoprics. One of his most memorable and longstanding positions, was as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher in the Bountiful 43rd Ward for 15 years. From his perspective in this position, a lesson wasn’t complete if it didn’t mention the town of Henefer, as well as anecdotes about herding sheep. The indelible, yet simple, experiences and lessons of his youth—hard work and forming close bonds with family—never diminished within him. In fact, one of his final statements to the family he created with Elaine, declared what truly mattered to him: “We didn’t have boats, outdoor toys and expensive, flashy worldly things, but we had a good life.” Indeed, we did. He was vital to that good life—providing our livelihood, shaping our character and sense of duty, as well as emphasizing tangible and lasting relationships with family. He was our compass, keeping us pointed in the right direction, and will be deeply missed.

Lane is survived by his five children: Brad (Kim) Fawcett, Darin (Jessica) Fawcett, Leslie (Martin) Schimmer, Natalie Fawcett, and Melanie (Adam) Cordon; 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren (with one on the way).

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Bountiful Park Ward, 990 N. Chapel Drive, Bountiful, Utah. Family and friends may visit during the viewing on Saturday from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. at the same location, prior to the funeral.

Interment, Henefer Cemetery at 1:30 p.m.

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