Pectol, Ephraim Portman, 1875-1947

Ephraim Portman Pectol (1875-1947) was a storekeeper in Torrey, Utah.

Ephraim Portman Pectol was born in Glenwood, Utah, on May 16, 1875, to George Peter Pectol and Annina Conradine Peterson. He married Dorothy D. Hickman on June 21, 1899. From 1906-1908, he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand. After he returned from missionary service, the Pectols sold their farm and opened up a general store--called The Wayne Umpire--in 1910. In 1925, Pectol was instrumental in making Capitol Reef a Utah State Park, and it eventually became a National Park in 1972. Pectol died October 6, 1947, in Elsinore, Utah.