Blair Hazen Checketts
Blair Hazen Checketts passed away on August 15, 2004
in his home in Nampa, Idaho from the effects of
Alzheimers at the age of 73.
He was born October 20, 1930 in Logan, Utah to Hazen
Checketts of Providence, Utah and Phyllis Jones from
Butte, Montana; he was their only child. Soon after
his birth they moved to Hayward, California. Blair
grew up as a member of the LDS church and attended the
Hayward Ward with his parents. He graduated from
Hayward High School in 1949.
In 1951 he joined the US
Navy and served his country for four years during the
Korean War as an electronics and radar technician on
the USS Mt. McKinlay. After his discharge from the
Navy he returned to Hayward and married the girl that
lived next door, Lillian Patricia Starks, on October
12, 1955 in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple. They were
blessed with three children: Lannie, Melinda and
Timothy.
Blair’s first career was in the burgeoning high tech
industry in Southern California. His jobs included
teaching mathematics used in the programming of the
computers and guidance systems used in Minuteman
missiles. During this time Blair and his family
lived in Garden Grove, California, and then moved to
Corona, California in 1967.
After completing a
bachelor of science degree at California State College
in Fullerton, he began a life-long study of the law by
attending Western State College of Law at night, while
working as an engineer by day.
In 1970 he received
his Juris Doctorate and began his second career as an
attorney. His legal career included time as a Public
Defender in Banning and Beaumont California and in
private practice in Corona and Vista, California. In
1975 he moved to Merced, California where he served as
Deputy County Counsel for the County of Merced until
he retired in 1994 as Chief Deputy County Counsel.
His personal interests included backpacking,
automobiles, photography and constantly learning.
During his lifetime he logged hundreds of miles
throughout the Sierra Nevadas, the Yosemite
Backcountry, the High Uintas and the Wind River Range.
To keep himself in shape he jogged daily, beginning
in the 1960’s long before it was popular to do so, and
continued past the age of 60.
Blair’s interest in and knowledge of automobiles, and
how they worked, was practically legend among those
who knew him. He was able to fix, rebuild, paint and
re-upholster anything on wheels, and helped many
people with his talent. His signature vehicle was a
1960 Chevrolet Suburban Carryall that he drove daily
and kept in mint condition for over 30 years.
A voracious reader, he constantly challenged himself
to learn new things and to increase his knowledge of
the world around him. His range of interest included
history, biography, geography, philosophy, photography
and current events. Normally, he read several books
each month and was a frequent visitor at public
libraries and used bookstores.
After retiring from Merced County, Blair and Pat
fulfilled their goal to return to his roots in
Providence, Utah in 1994 where they lived until 2001.
As a result of the Alzheimers disease, they moved to
Nampa, Idaho to be close to their sons. During the
final 15 months of his life Blair was a resident of
the Beehive House, an assisted living facility.
Blair is survived by his wife Patricia Checketts,
Lannie and Sandy Checketts of Nampa, Idaho, Timothy
and Hilary Checketts of Orem, Utah and Melinda and
Kerry Jepsen, currently living in Germany while in the
US Air Force. Blair and Pat also have 12
grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held at 12 noon on Thursday,
August 19, 2004 at the Providence LDS meetinghouse
located at 100 North and 200 East. A viewing will
begin at 10:30 a.m. at the church. Funeral services
are under the direction of Allen-Hall Mortuary.
Condolences may be sent to the family at
MortuaryObits@yahoo.com.