Russell (Rusty/Russ) Mace

Russell (Rusty/Russ) Mace passed away December 20th at the young age of 82 and is the last living Mace in his family. He was married to the love of his life and best friend, Tauna Archuleta Mace, for 60 blissful years. Rusty was an avid hunter. He learned how to hunt when he was just a boy growing up in Sandy, Utah with 13 brothers and sisters. As you can imagine, with that many siblings, food was hard to obtain so hunting became a necessity. He enjoyed the yearly family bow hunt and also the goose hunting trips riding in his airboat with his brother, Tom, and son, Cary. There were always funny stories he would love to tell after each hunting trip. He'd sit around the campfire or at his spot at the kitchen table and tell the play-by-play details of his son always killing the smallest deer (why did you kill Bambi, Cary?) or how Cary let the flock of geese go by missing every, single shot taken.

He had a special place in his heart for the little girls in the family and always willingly participated in their hair salon with barrettes and bows in his hair, played Barbie whenever asked, and was the wild bucking bronco when they wanted to sit on his back like a horse.

He was an Army medic, a journeyman electrician, and retired from Kennecott Copper Mine and the State of Utah. His coworkers adored him and he was always the life of the party.

He is survived by his wife and three children, Cary Cord Mace, Holly Stone, and Brandy Nichole Nelson. His children and grandchildren made him extremely happy and always loved them visiting, gathering at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, and listening to his many stories.

He made the best tasting weak coffee west of the Mississippi, the runniest sugar spaghetti you'd beg to eat, and the flattest bread rolls you've ever seen. He had a special knack for gun smithing and spending money on guns and gun parts, much to our mother's dismay. He always NEEDED the newest and greatest bow (he had to pick up Cary's slack and kill the full sized bucks).

He was skilled at keeping odds and ends you didn't know you needed. If you're looking for a head gasket for a 1909 Model T, you're in luck. He found one laying around and has been keeping it 'just in case' someone needs it.

To say the Mace family has lost their papa is an understatement. His absence will leave a gaping hole in the family for the rest of our lives. He was our world and we will keep the memories alive by sitting at the kitchen table and talking about the good times we had with him and the many stories he told us about the amazing adventures he had in his lifetime.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday, December 29th from 11:00 a.m. to Noon at Goff Mortuary in Midvale followed by funeral services at Larkin Sunset Gardens Cemetery in Sandy.