J Alan Blodgett

J Alan Blodgett passed away on the morning of Thursday, September 17, 2026, surrounded by family and friends at his home in Portland, Oregon.

Alan was born to Orvil and Leona Staley Blodgett on Election Day, November 7, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression.  He began life in a small three-room house on Cold Creek in North Ogden, Utah.  When he was three years old, he moved with his family to Ogden, Utah, where he attended elementary school and began a lifetime of work by delivering newspapers.

In 1947, the family moved to a dairy farm in Vale, Oregon.  This seemed a foreign life to Alan.  Instead of riding his bicycle around the streets of Utah’s second largest city, he now lived ten miles from a small town where he milked cows and helped with farm work, using horses and rudimentary equipment.  After he graduated from Vale Union High School in 1951, Alan attended Brigham Young University where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration.

After his BYU graduation, Alan was drafted into the U. S. Army.  During a leave on July 25, 1956, he married Eleanor Call in the Logan Utah Temple.  He and his new bride spent the next eighteen months in Germany, where Alan was on active duty.  Alan and Eleanor eventually became the parents of four children.

When he returned home, he was employed by BYU Administration during which time he also completed a Master’s Degree in Accounting and earned his CPA certification.  In 1963, he was recruited to work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, eventually becoming the Managing Director of the Financial Department.  He also served on the Salt Lake City Airport Commission during years when the airport was seeing tremendous growth.

In 1985, Alan resigned his position with the Church to become President of American Savings and Loan which was bought out by Benjamin Franklin Saving and Loan Association.  In 1990 he relocated to Portland, Oregon, where Benjamin Franklin S & L was headquartered and has lived there since that time.  After the closure of Benjamin Franklin S & L, Alan worked for Resolution Trust Corporation helping to manage and liquidate the assets of failed savings and loan associations.  After his retirement in 1998 he was able to devote all his time and efforts to his family and friends and to various hobbies and interests.

Alan was predeceased by his parents, his baby sister, May, his former wife, Eleanor, his brother-in-law, Gordon, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.  His survivors include his children, Jeff, Michele (Cockayne), Linda (Fotheringham), and Mark; siblings, Joan (Duane,) Jim (Jolynn,) Ray (Billie); and Marianne; grandchildren (17); great grandchildren (42), great-great grandchildren (1), and special friends.  He is also survived by other family members, friends and acquaintances too numerous to mention.

Alan loved to travel and enjoyed visiting many places. Even though he appreciated traveling, he was most content in the 100-year-old home which he and his friends had renovated and the beautiful yard they created.  Physically, Alan was an inspiration to his family and friends – first by running marathons and when that was no longer possible, by continuing his walking program.  He compiled several histories, including biographies of his mother and father and his own autobiography.  He was proud of his Utah pioneer heritage and pleased that at age 92 he became the oldest Blodgett.

The family would like to extend special thanks to Jerry McCormick, Lee Buhler, and Len Porter for their tender and loving care during Alan's final hours. 

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