James Lewis Haugen passed away peacefully in his home on August 13, 2026, with his wife, Marie Frances Haugen, by his side.

James was born on September 12, 1948, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the oldest of two sons born to William and Doris Haugen. His family later moved to Farmington, Utah, where James would spend most of his life.

In 1968, James attended Weber College, where he studied advertising. In the early 1970s, he began working at Hill Air Force Base as a sheet metal mechanic. He became an expert craftsman and was often assigned to jobs in particularly difficult spaces. He was well known both for the quality of his work and for his steadfast refusal to ever fly in an airplane. In his own words, he refused to fly because he “knew how they were built.” Examples of his craftsmanship can still be enjoyed by family and visitors at the Hill Aerospace Museum.

James was someone who could never sit still for long. There was always another project to work on, whether he was fixing his motorcycle, building a house, designing an enormous fish tank, or finding some new way to improve the home around him. He loved telling stories about his projects, and his family loved telling stories about them just as much. They fondly recall how James had a habit of getting almost all the way through a project before moving on to another, while rarely bothering with the finishing step.

Among his most memorable projects were the four houses he built, the many gigantic fish tanks he was constantly designing, and the water mill in his front yard that became his pride and joy. There were countless others, far too many to name.

Those projects also gave his family some of their funniest and most enduring stories: James falling through a floor, dropping a storm grate on his hand, tearing apart a trailer while attempting to turn it into a slide-out, or someone coming home to discover that a wall had suddenly been moved to an entirely different location. James was forever finding new ways to hurt himself or surprise everyone with whatever idea had occurred to him that day. For his family, it felt like an ongoing show, accompanied by the familiar question, “What is Dad going to do next?”

That restless spirit carried into nearly everything James loved. He enjoyed almost anything that got him outdoors, especially camping, hunting, and fishing, and he was almost always planning his next trip. He also loved Las Vegas and looked for every opportunity to make another visit. One of his dreams was to travel to Alaska and explore its landscape.

Many of his family’s favorite stories came from his hunting and outdoor adventures, including the occasion when he managed to lose track of his then nine-year-old son during a hunting trip. With James, there was always a story to bring home.

More than anything, James built a large and wonderful family. In his early twenties, he met and married Diane Elizabeth Haugen, and together they raised five children. Life eventually took them in different directions, and James was later blessed to find love again with Fran Montgomery. James and Fran blended their families, bringing together his five children and her five children, and later completed their family by adopting three more.

James is survived by his wife, Marie Frances Haugen; his children, Pamelia Campbell, Kevin Haugen, Lauralyn (David) Forthman, Penny (David) Ladd, Scott Montgomery, Kelly Montgomery, Peggy Montgomery, James (Jana) Montgomery, Janet Haugen, Adrian (Veronica Jackson) Haugen, and Julian (Belicia Hernandez) Haugen; and his brother, Larry (Susan) Haugen. He is also survived by twenty-eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

James was preceded in death by his parents, William and Doris Haugen; his daughter, Heidi Haugen Eddards; his son, Leroy Montgomery; his sons-in-law, Robert Johnson and Jeffrey Kelsey; his sister-in-law, Julia Haugen; and his grandparents, James William Devore, Otilda Barbara Meyer, Lewis Lars Larsen, and Elsie Langert;

James will be deeply missed by his family and friends, all of whom loved him very much. He leaves behind a lifetime of stories, laughter, projects, adventures, and memories—and probably a few things that still need finishing.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 11 A.M. with a viewing held prior from 10-10:45 A.M. All services will be held at the Garland Church (175 Main Steet- Garland). Interment will take place in the Farmington Cemetery at approximately 2-2:30 P.M. The funeral service will be livestreamed and can be accessed below.