Louis Joseph Chatterley

13 August 1933 - 21 December 2023

Louis Joseph Chatterley, of Orem, Utah, passed away Thursday, December 21, 2023 after several years of struggling with Alzheimer's disease. He was ninety years old. For most of his career, he taught mathematics at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He was also an athlete and sports enthusiast until Alzheimer's and age put him on the bench. Following retirement, he and his wife, Sandra, who passed away in 2015, served two missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One in Nauvoo, Illinois, and the other in Georgia. They also served together as ordinance workers in the Provo and Mount Timpanogos temples.

Louis was born 13 August 1933 in Kanab, Utah to Carrie Selinda Bringhurst Chatterley and Morton J. Chatterley. He was the last of eight children, just minutes younger than his twin sister Lois. Their home was originally a two-room house, to which Mort added two wings. One wing had two bedrooms, one for the four boys and one for the four girls in the family. Their was no indoor plumbing until Louis was almost twelve years old.

In school he enjoyed all sports. His first love was track, but he also played football and basketball. In his sophomore year of highschool he took second place in state for the pole vault. His junior and senior year he took first place. He pole vaulted for BYU for three years and won the conference championship his senior year. He placed eighth in the NCAA championship in Los Angeles. His sophomore year of college he attended school in Cedar City, where he won the National Junior College Athletic Association championship. He was later inducted into the Southern Utah University athletic hall of fame. In 1956 he traveled with the BYU track team throughout Europe, competing against polevaulters from several nations.

He married Sandra Little on 18 June 1952 in the St. George Utah temple. The following year the new couple moved to Cedar City where Sandra completed her senior year in highschool. The highschools in Kanab and Provo would not let a married girl attend, but the highschool in Cedar City would. The following year they moved back to Provo, and Louis finished his undergraduate education at BYU. Lou and Sandra eventually had seven children, Louis Matthew, Michael Knowlton, Jeffrey John, Bryan Morton, Timothy Paul, Jennifer, and Edward James.

After college Louis taught at Evergreen Junior High in Sandy, Utah and then returned to Kanab where he taught math and coached track, football and basketball. After a few years, he asked for a raise and was turned down by the school board. He told the board, "Then you can find someone else to do what I do," and quit on the spot. He returned to school at the University of Utah and received his master's degree in mathematics, and an offer to teach at Brigham Young High School in Provo. The family moved to the bedroom community of Orem and Lou loved teaching math to junior high and highschool kids for the next several years.

In 1968, BY High was closed and Lou taught math to the college kids on upper campus. In order to stay teaching at the university, he needed to finish his doctorate degree, and so in the fall of 1970 the family moved again, this time to Austin Texas where he completed, in two years, his studies in math education, and returned to the math department at BYU. He taught there for 23 more years until he retired at the age of 62. He was a true-blue Cougar, whose children used to wake up in the morning to him singing "Rise and Shout".

Lou loved playing basketball, golf and watching his children and grandchildren play sports. He was an avid fisherman and hunter and spent many summers hiking in the Uintah Mountains and fishing on Flaming Gorge or Strawberry reservoirs.

He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served in scouting, young men's, bishoprics, as a bishop, a high councilor, and missionary. He loved serving others. He was a social person and treasured his friendships and associations. He was a devoted and faithful member of the Church all of his life.

After his wife died, he suffered from, and was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimers. A little over a year ago he moved to Summerfield Retirement Home in north Orem, where he resided at the time of his death.

The family would like to especially thank the loving care-givers who served Lou at Summerfield, and all those who took care of him and touched his life during the past year.

Lou is preceded in death by his wife, Sandra Elizabeth Little, his son Bryan Morton and a son-in-law, Todd Gray, his mother Carrie Selinda Chatterley, father Morton J. Chatterley and all of his siblings: Rondo, Shirley, Laura, Cloyd, Kendle, Zolene and Lois.

He is survived by his children Louis Matthew (Ruth), Michael Knowlton (Kim), Jeffery John, Timothy Paul (Natasha) Jennifer Gray and Edward James; 28 grandchildren and 38 1/2 great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held 11:00 am on Friday the 29th of December, 2023, at the Sharon 4th Ward building, 700 E. 445 S. in Orem, Utah. A webcast will be available at www.walkersanderson.com located on his obituary.

There will be a viewing that morning from 9:30 to 10:30 am at the chapel. Friends and family may also attend a viewing at Walker Sanderson Funeral Home, 646 East 800 North in Orem, Utah, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm Thursday the 28th of December, 2023.