Flag Day still an important holiday to many


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BLUFFDALE — Of all the days Ione Tippetts could have been buried, she was buried on Flag Day.

"The flag meant everything to her,” said her oldest daughter, Irene Alder.

“The flag was a big thing in our family. We grew up loving the flag and our country.”

Saturday, more than 100 of her family members said goodbye, burying her next to her husband Marven at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale.

Marven Tippetts was a World War II veteran who also loved the American flag.

As with almost anyone from America's greatest generation, the American flag is more than just fabric and stitches.

"If she saw a flag that was in disarray or disrepair, she would go say, 'you need a new flag' or sometimes she would go buy one and take it right to them," said Alder.

There were plenty of American flags at the cemetery.

The big flags standing tall have a breath-taking view of the mountains behind them.

Steve Payeur picked up his mother in Centerville and made the drive to the cemetery to say hi to his father, Ronald, who was proud of his military service and the American flag until his final day.

"He was just proud to be able to be here and to have this beautiful location,” said Payeur.

Gail Payeur and her son Steve Payeur at the Utah Veterans Memorial 
Park in Bluffdale to visit Ronald Payeur.
Gail Payeur and her son Steve Payeur at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale to visit Ronald Payeur. (Photo: Mike DeBernardo, KSL)

“This place and all the flags here meant a lot to him. He felt like it gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted to do.”

Ronald Payeur died the day after Christmas in 2013.

He and his wife Gail celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in October.

"He loved his flag and the United States and America, period," said Gail Payeur.

There's just something about seeing the red, white and blue that makes us all feel patriotic.

On this holiday, it doesn't matter if you're Republican, Democrat, or something else, because, honestly, we're all Americans.

“Every time we can celebrate the flag, we're with it,” said Alder.

Of course Flag Day isn't as big as Christmas or as popular as Thanksgiving.

However, to those who still get emotional when they see an American flag waving in the air, Flag Day is still an important holiday.

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Alex Cabrero

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