This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ogden's first full-time mayor, Glenn Mecham, died Sunday at the age of 81.
"It was very fortuitous that he ended up being that first strong mayor of Ogden because he really did get the ball rolling on a lot of major projects," his son Scott Mecham said Monday. "It's a true legacy."
The "calm, ever-positive" Glenn Mecham is survived by three of his five siblings, his wife, their four children, 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
He helped bring back professional baseball to Ogden and was Utah's youngest judge, at age 26, according to his obituary prepared by his family.
"Mayor Mecham was known for his extensive vocabulary and 'true gentleman' dignity and optimistic approach to solving problems and improving the city," the obituary said.
Glenn Jefferson Mecham was born in Logan on December 11, 1935. He grew up playing the violin and was concertmaster at Logan Junior High. He competed on the debate, football and track teams at Logan High.
"He was such a good writer that the Logan Herald Journal hired him to do a weekly column" while he was a student at Utah State University, writing mostly about sports, Scott Mecham said.
Four days after graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1957, he married Mae Parson.
Glenn Mecham attended the University of Utah to get his law degree before working in public and private sectors, including as a partner for the law firm Mecham & Richards.
"He became a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, and that's rare that you achieve that rank," Scott Mecham said. "He just rose to the top, no matter where he was."
Before running for mayor, Glenn Mecham served as a councilman and assistant mayor in Ogden, and he presided over the Utah League of Cities and Towns.
"It seemed like everything that he was asked to become involved in or participate in, he would do out of sense of service," his son said. "But, inevitably, every board or committee that he sat on, he ended up then being elected among those members to become the chairman or the president."
Glenn Mecham was the president of the Weber County Bar Association and served as chairman of Utah State University's board of trustees, research foundation and space dynamics laboratory during his career.
When Ogden grew too big to have a part-time mayor, the City Council and city manager asked Glenn Mecham to help draft new bylaws.
And because "no one knew city government and the process and the new form of government better than Glenn Mecham," his son said, people started recruiting him to run for mayor. After declining initially, he agreed to run — "very reluctantly."
As mayor from 1992 to 2000, he led projects to renew downtown Ogden: the restoration of Peery's Egyptian Theater, the renovation of the Ogden municipal building and municipal gardens, and the development of the Ogden River Parkway and Dinosaur Park. He also oversaw construction of the Eccles Conference Center, Ogden Public Safety Center and Lindquist Field, where the Ogden Raptors play.
On his last day as mayor, he signed an agreement to develop the former Defense Depot Ogden into the Business Depot Ogden, "which has basically been the catalyst for Ogden's economic revival since then," his son said.
After retiring as mayor, he continued working as Sen. Bob Bennett's northern Utah liaison until he was in his 70s.
A memorial service is scheduled for noon on July 29 at the Monument Park Stake Center, 1320 S. Wasatch Drive, and the family has asked for donations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Perpetual Education Fund in lieu of flowers.
Twitter: @tiffany_mf