Lloyd Lavar Kempton

Published on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:53 AM MST

Lloyd Lavar Kempton

Lavar “Var” Kempton died at his home in Salem, Ore., on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009.

Lloyd Lavar Kempton was born Nov. 8, 1922, in Eden to Lloyd Heber Kempton and Sylvia Jane Bryce.

The oldest of six children, Var spent his early years helping on the family farm in Eden. At the age of 18, Var married Johnnie Louise Irwin on Oct. 5, 1941, in Yuma. Shortly after their marriage, Var joined the Navy during World War II, serving for three years as a signal corpsman aboard an infantry landing craft (LCI) in the South Pacific.

Var and Louise moved to the Gila Valley after his military service. Var worked as an auto mechanic for Gila Motors Chrysler Plymouth Dealership, now Kempton Chevrolet, which is owned by his nephews, Kyle and Kip Kempton.

In 1948, they moved to Brawley, Calif., then moved to Oregon in 1951. Var worked initially in the Roseburg, Ore., area as an auto mechanic and later became the manager of a Chevron service station. Eventually, he become the shop foreman and service manager for a car dealership in Roseburg, and for a time he also instructed auto mechanics at a local community college. Var’s automotive industry career spanned 28 years from Arizona to Oregon. Never one to be idle, he and Louise even found time to manage the Benetta Theater in Winston, Ore., and operated the food concession service for the Roseburg Auto Race Track.

In 1969, the Kemptons purchased the A&W Drive-In Restaurant in Independence, Ore., and moved their family to the Willamette Valley. Over the next few years, the Kemptons expanded from one to three restaurants plus several other restaurant-related businesses. By 1981, Var and Louise were spending their time in both Oregon and Arizona before eventually retiring to Salemtowne in West Salem in 1994.

Var was extremely proud of his lifelong heritage as an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Louise preceded Var in death on March 10, 2008. Var is survived by five children: Carolyn (Bill) Moore, John (Patty) Kempton, Rob (Marcia) Kempton, Brad (Chris) Kempton and Deanna (Norm) Hewitt; 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Var is also survived by his five siblings: Helen Callies, Leola Wadell, Bryce Kempton, Karen Griffin and Lynne Perry.

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