John Ortell Kingston

John Ortell Kingston (May 19, 1919 – August 25, 1987) was the Trustee of the Davis County Cooperative Society in Davis County, Utah, from 1948 until his death in 1987. Davis County Cooperative membership John Ortell Kingston was the son of Charles W. Kingston, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who had been excommunicated from the LDS Church on March 4, 1929. Kingston joined his brother Elden Kingston's cooperative shortly after its establishment. When Elden Kingston died from cancer in 1948, leadership of the "Davis County Co-op" passed from Elden to Ortell. During Ortell's tenure as Trustee of the Cooperative, some members formally organized the Latter Day Church of Christ in 1977. Most members of the Cooperative became members of the church and retain dual-membership in both organizations to this day. Finances The Cooperative had its birth during the Great Depression when many families were finding it hard to provide for their families. For many years, members of the Co-operative lived in poor conditions with those in need having no legal way to apply for assistance. Plural families at times resorted to gathering expired groceries that had been thrown out from local stores. Long-time leader John Ortell Kingston himself lived in a small dilapidated one-story clapboard house in Salt Lake City up until the time of his death in 1987.