Udall, Levi Stewart

Levi S. Udall was born 20 January 1891 at Saint Johns, Arizona, to David K. and Ella Udall, Morman pioneers to Arizona in 1880. His childhood was spent working on his father's farm and carrying United States mail by team and buckboard for his father's mail contract business. He attended public school in St. Johns, completed his secondary education at Gila Academy (1910-1911), and briefly attended the University of Arizona, Tucson.

He married Louise Lee of Thatcher, Arizona, on 10 June 1914. They had six children: Inez, Elma, Stewart, Morris, Eloise, and Burr. In addition to the farm, the family operated Apache Abstract Company (c. 1930-1945), the only title company in Apche County. He was member of the Arizona Boy Scouts Councils (1915-1960). He worked as a clerk for the Apache County Board of Supervisors (1915-1918), and as a clerk for the Superior Court (1919-1920). An Democratic National Convention in San Francisco (1920). Admitted to the state bar (1922), he served as county attorney for Apache County (1922-1923, 1927-1928). He was elected as Judge of the Superior Court (1931-1946), and later, as Judge to the Arizona Supreme Court (1947-1960).

He was appointed Ward president for the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (1915-1920), a Morman organization. Ordained into the Mormon priesthood by his father, David K. Udall in 1920, Levi Udall was a committed member of his church. He served as president of the St. Johns Stake (1922-1945), and later was appointed as Patriarch for the Phoenix North Stake.

Dedicated to the preservation of his father's deeds, he edited a biogrpahy prepared by his sister, Pearl Udall Nelson, titled Arizona Pioneer Mormon (1915). A member of many civic associations, he was awarded both the Medallion of Merit (1959) and an honorary Doctor of LAws (1960) by the University of Arizona.

He died of a heart attack in Wickenburg, Arizona, on 30 May 1960.

From the guide to the Levi Stewart Udall collection, 1842-1974, (University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections)