Amyot Willard Cherrington (1888-1970)

Portrait from the Springville Herald, March 13, 1969.

   A lifelong resident of Springville, Utah, Amyot Willard Cherrington became one of that city's most honored sons during his life, being active in farming, business, and religious work. Elected as the Mayor of Springville in November 1953, Cherrington had previously served as head of the Utah Poultry Association in the early 1940s. 

  Born in Springville on March 9, 1888, Amyot Willard Cherrington was the son of Joseph and Prudence (Straw) Herrington. The origins behind his outstandingly different first name remain unknown but could have a connection to French scholar Jacques Amyot (1513-1593), a writer active during the Renaissance. Amyot would serve as Bishop in Auxerre, France beginning in the 1570s and is remembered today for having translated a number of classical works, including those by Greek writers Plutarch, Longus, and Diodorus.  

   A student in schools local to Springville, Cherrington would go on to attend Brigham Young University and in June 1909 married at the Salt Lake Temple to Hilda E. Wheeler (1889-1974). The couple was wed for over sixty years and their union saw the births of five children: Captola (1910-1999), Jack (1914-2008), Amyot Bert (1919-1995), Carol (1923-2014), and Jane (birth-date unknown).

  In the years prior to his marriage, Cherrington had entered into the contracting business, which he would follow for a decade. Following the sale of his contracting business Cherrington began a lengthy career as a fruit grower and farmer, being the owner of a farm in Mapleton as well as the Roe E. Deal property near Springville. Specializing in cherries, the Springville Herald notes that Cherrington employed hundreds of young workers to work his properties, and in addition to ownership of the aforementioned farms was a member of the state board of fruit and vegetables and a founding member of the Springville-Mapleton Fruit Growers Association. 

From the Springville Herald, February 24, 1944.

   As a prominent agriculturalist in Utah County, Cherrington also loomed large in the poultry industry, serving on the state board of poultry producers and in February 1944 was elected president of the Utah Poultry Cooperative Association. He also maintained an interest in several other business entities in the Utah County area, being a member of the Board of Directors of the Springville Irrigation Co. and the Springville Chamber of Commerce. A longstanding member of the Mormon church, Cherrington was a bishop for Springville's first ward from 1930-35 and was twice a High Councilman. A former ward president of the Springville Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, Cherrington was described in his Springville Herald obituary as an active participant in church functions and at the time of his death in 1970 was serving as a High Priest for Springville's sixth ward.

   Following their retirement from fruit growing in 1953 Cherrington and his wife sold their farm and resettled in Springville. He was soon after elected as that city's mayor and during his two terms in office (1954-1958) is remarked as having been "instrumental in procuring added culinary water and facilities to the city's system." Amyot Willard Cherrington died at his Springville home on December 31, 1970, at age 82. He was survived by his wife Hilda, who, following her passing in 1974, was interred alongside her husband at the Evergreen Cemetery in Springville. 

From the Springville Herald, January 27, 1955.