WordPerfect founder and longtime Orem resident Alan Ashton says he looked forward to some good friends visiting him and his wife, Karen, at their home in May, but he didn’t know what they had planned.

“We were very honored and surprised to be named the grand marshals of this year’s Freedom Festival,” Alan Ashton said. “It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate the freedom of America and represent the community.”

The parents of 11 children and more than 60 grandchildren, Alan and Karen Ashton have enjoyed participating in the Freedom Festival with their family for years.

“When we’ve been in other places on the Fourth of July, we really miss the great celebration with the parade and the fireworks. We think the celebration we’re able to do as a community in the Provo and Orem area is absolutely wonderful,” Alan Ashton said. “We have family in Texas who have come up here specifically for the festival.”

Karen noted that the Freedom Festival is a chance to “celebrate before the sun comes up and well after the sun goes down.”

“We love the parade, love the fireworks and love the balloons. It’s a great family time,” she said. “This is an opportunity to celebrate the stories of our country and to honor the men and women who made it possible for us to exercise freedom.”

Alan Ashton earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah. He taught at Brigham Young University before co-founding the WordPerfect Corporation in 1994.

When Novell acquired WordPerfect in 1995, Alan and Karen Ashton founded Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. Today, the nonprofit complex includes the 55-acre Ashton Gardens, Museum of Natural Curiosity, Museum of Ancient Life, Farm Country and Golf Club. Karen Ashton also founded the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival that is now held in Lehi.

Alan Ashton served as a mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in eastern Canada. They have also served as temple president and matron at the Provo Utah Temple until 2016.

The Ashtons were also honored in 2017 by the Utah Valley Chapter of Brigham Young University Management Society with the Pioneer in Leadership Award for their role as “exemplary executives.”