This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Manning the only funeral home in town, a family business since 1925, Douglas Webb knows the Preston population well. Not only does he connect with families in times of crisis, the Latter-day Saint works hand in hand with priests and ministers who worship differently.
Simply put, "I'm part of the community, and I serve the community," he says.
The 70-year-old mortician - and Franklin County coroner for nearly four decades - once served as a town ambulance driver, has been the rodeo secretary for 35 years and has had extended stints as LDS Church ward bishop, counselor and activities chairman.
"It's an interesting life in this little fish pond we have here," he says.
It's a small-town life, population 5,000, a place where Mormons once lived alone. But the "bedroom community" for nearby Logan, just over the Utah border, has attracted others who've sought out a rural environment, Webb explains. And the us vs. them mentality of decades ago doesn't seem to play out as it once did.
"It kind of happened without encouraging or not encouraging it," he says. "Everybody gets along quite well."
- Jessica Ravitz