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Show I' ' Verl Matthews Retires After 28 Years From Page 1 "has always been in extension. "He said when he has to finally hand his keys in on his final day, Jan. 31, he will probably cry for three days. Verl and the former Elaine Chidester were reared in Utah County, living only one-half mile from one another on adjacent farms near American Fork in Highland. The two were married in 1960 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Married now for 36 years, the couple has reared nine children of their own: Verlaine (Mrs. David) Spencer, Escalante; Jeanette (Mrs. Garland) Sawyer, Greenville; Lynea (Mrs. Chad) Limb, Beaver; Laurel, a USDA Farm Service Agent in Salt Lake County; James attending Southern Utah University in electronics technology; Christian, attending Southern Utah University in language and education; Jennifer (Mrs. David) Wilson, Panguitch and Casandra, an eighth grader at Panguitch High School. They both graduated from American Fork High School, Verl going on to attend Brigham Young University where he earned both a bachelor of science degree in 1962 in botany and followed with a masters in in ecology. Verl worked for four years with the Forest Service prior to accepting a commission from USU as extension agent at Fort Duchesne on the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation. They resided in Roosevelt and in 1971 requested the opportunity to fill a vacancy in Panguitch. So he technically has 32 years in as a civil servant in the state of Utah. Verl"s office has always been in the Garfield County Courthouse, "He is almost like one of the fixtures that goes with the building," a co-worker remarked who doesn't know how they will get along without him. Neither do the farmers and ranchers in Garfield and Kane counties with whom he has worked for so many years. |