Buddy Lee Diehl

Buddy Lee Diehl's Obituary- February 1, 2021

Buddy Lee Diehl was born March 5, 1950, in Pulaski County in Little Rock, Arkansas to Ann Louise and George Diehl. He was born at home. He was the oldest of 5 children. His siblings are Brenda Mullen, Michael Lee Diehl, Rebecca Diehl and Darlene Ford.

His dad George served in the United States Army. George served in World War Il, Korean War and the Vietnam War. All of Buddy's siblings were born in a different state or country. As a youth, Buddy participated in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. While in the Boy Scouts he did a 75 mile walk to the Joan of Arc Memorial in France. He played football, basketball and baseball during his Junior High and High School years. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in San Antonio, Texas in May of 1969. He joined the Navy in December, 1969. Two weeks before he joined the Navy, his little brother Michael Lee passed away at home at the age of 16. Buddy and Michael were very close. Buddy was a Boatsman Mate on the USS Butte AE27 for two years. He was in the National Guard for six years. When he got out of the Navy, he went back to San Antonio, Texas and worked construction.

He spent 45 years in the commercial rental business taking him to several cities in Texas and New Mexico. He was a Branch Manager, Operations Manager and Sales Manager.

He married Kathy Champion in 1976. They were married for 20 years. In October of 2001, he met his wife Gina. She introduced him to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He took the missionary discussions and was baptized on March 4, 2002.

They were married in Albuquerque on May 18, 2002. In September of 2002, Buddy moved to Salt Lake City, Utah for work. Gina, her Mom Virginia and daughter Alysha soon followed to join Buddy. They settled in West Jordan, Utah and lived there for 12 years. Buddy and Gina were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple in October, 2004. Virginia had a stroke in November Of 2012 and Gina needed help in caring for our mom. In August of 2014. Buddy, Gina and Virginia moved to Cedar Crest, New Mexico to be closer to family members. .

Buddy gained two daughters - Kimberly and Alysha, two son-in-laws - James and Dustin and five grandsons - Talan, Stryder, Reeze. Quinn and Pentz. Gina really appreciated how good Buddy was to Virginia while she lived with them for 12 years. Buddy was involved with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Ward Mission Leader and working in the Primary while living in West Jordan, Utah. He was a Cub Master for many years. The boys really looked up to Buddy for his great example in leadership. In June of 2015, Buddy went on a Pioneer Trek to Martin's Cove in Wyoming with the youth of the Cobble Creek Ward in West Jordan. They reenacted the handcart trek much like the ones the pioneers endured over 150 years ago. He expressed to Gina what a spiritual, peaceful experience that was to him.

When they moved to Cedar Crest he also worked with the Cub Scouts, was a Group teacher in Primary and a counselor in the High Priests Quorum. Buddy enjoyed outdoor photography, camping, fishing and going for rides with Gina. He was able to go on several cruises with Gina's family members. He loved to play all kinds of card games. In his earlier days, Buddy was involved in the Texas JC's, a young man's organization. In 1978 he was nominated for "Outstanding Young Man of Texas". He enjoyed fellowshipping inmates at the Texas State Prison. He would go there once a week to give messages of hope to the men.

Buddy has many memories of participating in hot air ballooning. He served as a member of many chase crews. He loved to collect all sorts of things. This would include camping equipment, guns and knives. He liked to hunt and fish when he was younger. He was always prepared for any emergency that would arise. His vehicle was always full of emergency supplies.

He enjoyed bowling for much of his life. Buddy had a very competitive personality, but he was a good sport most of the time.

I want to relate a story about Buddy. Gina, Buddy, Linda and myself and some of my kids went on a Caribbean cruise. While in St. Kitts, my kids pressured the "old guys" to take a special excursion. It was called "Snuba". Basically a large 75 pound helmet is placed on your head and is attached to an air hose. You climb down 20 feet to the bottom of the clear blue ocean. It sounds scary, but it was a lot of fun. The main instructions we received was not to panic and to keep your head level. If your head is tilted, water will come in. As we walked around the bottom of the ocean, looking at a shipwreck, a crashed helicopter and lots of fish, we all seemed to be having a good time. I saw the water come up almost to Buddy's eyes. I motioned for him to straighten out his head. It worked for a few seconds, when more water seemed to come in. I saw panic in his eyes. I grabbed his helmet and tried to straighten it out. Buddy finally got the hang of it. Luckily, we had no fatalities on this trip. You should have seen Buddy on the zip line. He had a ball!

He loved his five grandsons that lived close by. He and Gina have lots of good memories Of time spent with them. The grandsons remember going to Cabella's with Buddy when they would come for visits to Utah. Buddy would take them to the shooting range and buy them souvenirs. They would visit lots of museums. Here are Buddy's last thoughts - "l don't want a day Of sadness. I want it to be a day to rejoice in the plan of salvation.

Buddy loved God, his family and his country.

Buddy was preceded in death by his brother Michael Lee in December, 1969, His Dad George in February, 1999, his Mom Ann in November, 2004 and his sister Becky in May, 2009.