Alan C. Ashton (born May 7, 1942) is the co-founder of WordPerfect Corporation and a former professor at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU). Ashton worked for a time with

Novell Novell, Inc. was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi-platform network operating system known as Novell NetWare. Under the lead ...

after the company bought WordPerfect, and subsequently founded Thanksgiving Point in

Lehi, Utah Lehi ( ) is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is named after Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. The population was 75,907 at the 2020 census, up from 47,407 in 2010. The rapid growth in Lehi is due, in part, to the rapid develo ...

Career

Born in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Ashton began his work in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, studying computing and music in the early 1970s. In 1977, Ashton began work on word processing when he created a specification for an improved console-based

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Word processor (electronic device), Early word processors were stand-alone devices ded ...

. His specifications outlined various innovations at the time, including continuous documents, function key shortcuts, modeless editing, and primitive

WYSIWYG In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...

formatting. Along with his student,

Bruce Bastian Bruce Wayne Bastian (born March 23, 1948) is an American computer programmer, businessperson, philanthropist, and social activist. He co-founded the WordPerfect Software Company with Alan Ashton (executive), Alan Ashton in 1978 (originally known ...

, Ashton incorporated ''Satellite Software International'', which would later become the WordPerfect Corporation, in September 1979. In 1987, Ashton left BYU to serve full-time as president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of WordPerfect Corporation. Ashton ran WordPerfect as a triumvirate, along with Bastian and W. E. "Pete" Peterson. Ashton and Bastian each controlled 49.5% of the company, and Peterson controlled 1%. While Ashton was the titular head of WordPerfect, Peterson ran the day-to-day operations, and was frequently misinterpreted as the head of the company by the press. Ashton's management style was hands-off. For a time, the entire development organization of WordPerfect reported directly to him. In 1990, Ashton was identified by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

as one of the 400 wealthiest individuals in the United States. Ashton joined the Novell Corporation's Board of Directors in 1994, and resigned in 1996. Ashton is unrelated to Ashton-Tate, a database company and contemporary of WordPerfect in the 1980s. In April 1999, Ashton founded ASH Capital, a venture investment company controlled by Ashton and managed by James Savas and David Harkness.

Thanksgiving Point

After WordPerfect was acquired by Novell and Ashton's responsibilities were alleviated, he and his wife founded Thanksgiving Point. Thanksgiving Point is located in

, within 20 miles of WordPerfect's former corporate headquarters in

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah M ...

. "We wanted to create something for the people around us," says Ashton. "We've been blessed financially and with a large family. We wanted to give something back to the community and the families in our area." Today, Thanksgiving Point provides the community with a place where adults and children can learn about farming, gardening and cooking. It also has a championship caliber golf course, a museum of ancient life, a children's curiosity museum, a 55-acre themed garden, and a movie theater.

Personal life

Ashton is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

and a grandson of former church president

David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...

.Jesse McKinley and Kirk Johnson
"Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 2008-11-14. He served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in Central

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as a young man. Ashton later married Karen Jackman Ashton; they are the parents of 11 children. He has served in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

, and as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Canada Toronto West

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

from 2004 to 2007. From 2013 to 2016, Ashton and his wife served as the

and

matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

of the

Provo Utah Temple Provo or Provos may refer to: In geography In the United States * Provo, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Provo, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Provo Township, Fall River County, South Dakota * Provo, Utah, a city ** Provo ...

California Proposition 8

The California

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment, state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the California state elections, November 2008, Novem ...

campaign announced that a $1 million donation to support Proposition 8 was given by Ashton.SFGate.com Prop 8 Contributions
/ref> The donation was reported by the Proposition 8 campaign on October 28, 2008. Ashton's former business partner Bastian gave $1 million to oppose Proposition 8.

References

External links

Almost PerfectProp 8 Donor RevealedSFGate.com: Prop 8 Contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Alan 1942 births University of Utah alumni American computer scientists American Mormon missionaries in Germany Brigham Young University faculty Living people McKay family Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Canada Businesspeople from Salt Lake City 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah