Grant Ivins Wilson

Grant “Buck” Ivins Wilson, age 63, passed away on February 26, 2024, in Garland, Utah. He was born June 28, 1960, in Washington, DC to Grant Ivins Wilson (deceased) and Sue Carole Sheard of Payson, Utah.

He married Emily Mecham Wilson May 13, 2006, in Orem, Utah, later sealed in the St. George, Utah temple. 

Grant spent most of his childhood in Las Cruces and Los Lunas, New Mexico, then Payson, Utah; Provo, Utah; Green River, Utah; Greeley, Colorado; St. George, Utah; and finally, Garland, Utah. He also spent two years in Bolivia serving a full time LDS mission. 

He received a Bachelors degree and Masters degree from Brigham Young University. and Ph.D. from Utah State University. 

Grant worked as a Biology and Anatomy instructor at colleges and universities including Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College, Aimes Community College in Greeley, Colorado, and most recently Dixie State and Utah State University. 

Grant survived Leukemia, then suffered from heart failure, which worsened until it was necessary to get a heart transplant in January of 2009. The heart that saved his life and gave him 15 more years and was donated by a wonderful family who lost two sons in one car accident and made the generous decision to donate their son’s organs. Grant was able to connect with them soon after his transplant and thank them. They continued to keep in touch and maintained a special friendship. 

Grant loved taking nature photographs, especially close up pictures of insects and arthropods, many of which he posted on Facebook. He loved singing and playing the piano and guitar. He had a beautiful deep bass voice, which he shared in college choirs and musical productions where he was a student or professor. He loved deer hunting and reading deer hunting stories. He loved eating at Golden Corral and Chuck-a-Rama. In recent years, he and his wife Emily enjoyed watching TV shows together including Star Trek (TOS), Phineas and Ferb, and My Little Pony: “Friendship is Magic.” He was a great advocate for kindness. 

He is survived by his wife Emily Mecham Wilson, mother Sue Carole Sheard, brothers Matt (Ashley) and Ken (Leanne), sister Anna Lee Wilson, numerous nieces and nephews, and many cats, 6 dogs, 2 turtles, 1 horse, 2 goats and 1 dove. 

Grant is preceded in death by his father and namesake, Grant Ivins Wilson.

 A simple graveside service and dedication will be held on March 4, 2024, at 1:00 PM at the Nephi City Cemetery at 400 E. 400 N. in Nephi, Utah. 

Special thanks to Dan Black, Thayne Sweeten, Jessica Habashi and other colleagues, friends and students from Utah State University Brigham City, the doctors at the Heart Failure Clinic at IMC and Dr. Jan-Erik Schow.