Travis Neal Poyner

On Friday, July 29th, 2016, Travis Neal Poyner had his final battle with lung cancer and passed away in his home in West Valley City, Utah. Although he was overcome by such a formidable foe, Travis himself always had an enormous reserve of willpower that assuredly caused his cancer to regret ever taking on such a tenacious adversary. Travis was born in Port Hueneme, California, April 5th, 1957 to parents Royal Aubrey and Verda Anna (ne Feinauer), where his father was stationed in the military. His father began his military career as a US Marine and finished as a Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy, seeing action in both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars. This instilled in Travis a deep connection to veterans and the support of their affairs. As with many military careers, relocation is a necessity and Travis had the fortune of following his father to Hawai'i and becoming a self-declared haole but, nevertheless, a lover of the pervading culture of the islands. Along with Hawai'ian culture and language, Travis had a tremendous fondness for the outdoors. An avid sportsman, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, dirt biking and horseback ridingeven competed in the rodeo as a bareback bronc rider. He also spent many summers in Wyoming excavating fossils, bringing home treasures of bygone species to share with his family. He was a thrill seeker and an adventurist; a person that, the more you got to know him, the more you realized you were conversing with a man that not only lived on the edge but was hanging on with one hand for the shear fun of it. As this edge subsided from his life, he kept his mind and hands active with the many arts and crafts he dabbled in. He produced leatherworks with Hawai'ian motifs; rings made from various coins that he gave to friends and their children; custom modifications to fabrics and handbags; knots tied to make monkey fists (sailors would use them for rope slinging, but Travis most likely intended them to be used as weapons). He was a do-it-yourself, creative kind of guy with an unwavering attitude to take on anything, even if it was simply to say that he could. Travis was the proud father of daughter Michele Marie and husband Dustin Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah; son Paul Collins Johnson of Oahu, Hawaii; and he was the grandfather to Oliver Claudell Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah. Travis was preceded in death by both of his parents; and is survived by his two sisters: Nelda Marie Perez and husband Angel of Loveland, Ohio; sister Patti Ann and husband Michael Wimmer of San Tan Valley, Arizona; and his brother Thomas Royal Poyner and wife Dor Ann of Tooele, Utah. As he ended many of his communications with those closest to him, we will close by saying this: Aloha nui loa, A hui hou. with much love, see you again. Place of Birth:Port Hueneme, CaliforniaPlace of Death:West Valley City, Utah