Gloria Jean Barnhurst, age 98, beloved wife, mother, grand-mother, passed away December 18, 2025. Born June 10, 1927 in Midway Utah, to Amos and Dicey Shumway. Married Merlin S. Barnhurst on Sept. 27th, 1945 in the Manti LDS Temple.

Jean loved babies above all else and they had seven children in 10 years, Lorraine, Dallas, Kevin, Collette, Susan, Merlin Jr, and Regina, and raised Lenore as her own. She loved all of her 23 grand children, 101 great grand children, and numerous great great grand children. She surrounded herself in Dolls because she longed to hold babies.

Jean was a hard worker and loved helping people. She had a way of lifting people up and making them feel special. She had many jobs during her life and found her passion selling jewelry and souvenirs. She loved her rose gardens and planted roses everywhere that she ever lived. There are also mature trees of every kind that she planted all over the state.

She loved music and especially singing with the Sweet Adeline’s choir, and she loved to call people and sing happy birthday to them. She loved dogs and cats and raised many poodles during her life. She adopted a couple of Pugs in her later years and treated them like they were her babies. They would come in from outside and have a rock in their mouth and she trained them to exchange the rock for a treat because she was afraid they would swallow the rocks. Sounds like maybe they had her trained, because it didn’t take long for them to become ginormous. She loved to cook and nobody went hungry at her house. She baked fresh bread every day for at least 45 years.

She was a very special woman to all who knew her.

Jean is survived by her daughters Lorraine Gibson (Nebraska), and Collette Walton (Kanab), and her sons Dallas (Sara) (AZ) and Merlin Jr. (Connie) (Bluffdale), and Lenore Johnson (Laverkin).
She was proceeded in death by her husband, parents, brothers Floyd, Daryl, Jay, and Dick, and by her children Susan, Kevin, and Regina.

Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, December 27th, 2025 at 12:00 noon in the Hatch Ward Chapel. There will be a viewing from 11:00 am to 11:50 prior to the funeral. Burial in the Hatch Cemetery under the direction of Mosdell Mortuary.