Lemuel Earl Chambers

Lemuel Earl Chambers, 86, recently of Heber, Utah passed away June 8, 2023, of age-related causes. Earl was born February 14, 1937, in his home on West 11th Street in Speedway, Indiana to Ivan Norman Chambers and Florence Alma (Doyle) Chambers. His parents named him after his grandfather, Lemuel Orville Chambers, and the doctor who delivered him at his home whose name was Earl. Earl spent his growing years in that home and graduated, a Speedway Spark Plug, from Speedway High School in 1956.

After high school, Earl began working for Union Carbide in Speedway. During these years, Earl met Betty Sue Thomas whom he married on February 25, 1961, in the Speedway Christian Church. Shortly thereafter they began their family welcoming their children Emily Lucille, Bryan Booth, and Fletcher Keith.

In 1963, missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on their door asking to share a message about Jesus Christ. Earl quickly believed their message and soon he and Betty were baptized members of the Church. A year later, they drove across the country to Salt Lake City, Utah, where they had their marriage sealed for time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple and their daughter sealed to them.

In 1967, Earl moved the family to Lafayette, Indiana after purchasing a franchise for The Dog House restaurant. He opened the restaurant and kept it open for about six months, but closed it as the entire franchise chain collapsed. After a few years, He took his family back to the Indianapolis area where Earl worked at Central Soya, a soybean processing company.

In 1973, Earl moved his family to the small town of Lebanon, Indiana where he eventually became a painting subcontractor. About 1981, he began to work for physical facilities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Initially, this work took him across the Midwest and northeast United States and eastern Canada helping the Church keep track of its many construction projects. He often considered this work as his mission. In 1984, the Church transferred him to Delaware, Ohio where he lived until the year 2020 when he moved to Heber City, Utah to live at The Lodge, a skilled nursing facility.

Growing up with a railroad that passed though the neighborhood right behind his parent’s property, Earl had a lifelong fascination with trains, especially steam locomotives. He loved train excursions and would often record the train sounds from those journeys. He collected model trains as well. He also enjoyed airplanes and automobiles. For several years in retirement, he owned a black 1958 Edsel Ranger that he enjoyed taking to car shows.

Earl was cherished and loved by many members of the various communities in which he lived and worked throughout his life, making friends everywhere he went. Blessing others to the best of his ability, time, and talent, Earl’s acts of service included handling a care home resident’s affairs for many years; building Pinewood Derby race cars for boys in the local Cub Scout Pack; helping community members earn their GED; building bedrooms in the basement for a friend; rescuing his kids from across state lines in emergencies; repairing homes and/or lending tools to neighbors; and even while a resident himself, assisting care home roommates to find joy in their last days on earth.

Earl’s wife, Betty, predeceased him in death in 2010 after battling Alzheimer’s disease. Earl was able to assist and care for her until she succumbed to the disease. His parents and his siblings, Violet Shanklin, Annette Nelson, and Richard “Bud” Chambers predeceased him. He is survived by his children, Emily Hall of South Carolina, Bryan Chambers (Martha) of Arizona, and Fletcher Chambers (Marie) of Utah. Earl is survived by 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held on June 16, 2023 at 10 a.m. at Nelson Family Mortuary, 4780 N University Ave, Provo, UT, with funeral services to follow at 11 a.m.

Graveside services will be held June 23, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Oak Grove Cemetery, 334 S Sandusky St, Delaware, OH.