With family by his side, Jerry Lee Curtis, 76, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away August 29, 2024 in Kanab, UT.

Jerry was born in Salina, Utah, April 19th 1948, the youngest child of Blaine and Amy Curtis of Aurora, Utah. He spent his youth working the family farm in Aurora and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for his high school years, graduating from Rancho High School in 1966.

Of his youth, he talked fondly of time spent working on the Boulder mountain, cattle runs to the West Mountain, ice skating on the ponds and canals near Aurora, and boating on Lake Mead with his boat he refurbished himself from scrap. You would frequently hear him say, that growing up on a farm taught him two things: 1) how to work and 2) that he didn’t want to be a farmer.

After graduating high school , Jerry returned to Utah to attend College of Southern Utah (now SUU), in Cedar City. It was there, he met Keala (Kay) Hepworth. They married in 1967. The couple moved to northern Utah for Jerry to attend Utah State University in Logan. The couple then settled in Mesa, Arizona in 1970. Jerry graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from Arizona State University.

Professionally, Jerry worked from the ground up at Motorola, eventually becoming Vice President and retiring from Motorola in 2000 after 26 years of service. His career in semiconductors would then move Jerry and Kay to Texas where he ran a plant in Dallas area. Later another move to Fremont, California, and finally to Palos Verdes, California. Jerry’s final professional job was running a semiconductor plant in Torrance, California, finally retiring in 2015. These jobs would take him to many corners of the globe with significant time traveling in Asia and Europe, where he made friends in multiple continents. When it was time to retire, he and Kay chose to settle in Orderville, Utah where he could wear his cowboy hat, work a garden, and drive his tractor or UTV daily and share the beautiful country with his family.

No matter where they lived, they actively served in their community and in their faith, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Jerry loved working with young people in his community. From coaching youth sports, to working as a Scoutmaster, serving as Bishop or in other church callings, Jerry consistently found ways to reach any who were struggling and to help them find their full potential. His dedication to faith and community culminated with his lifelong dream of serving a mission for his church with his sweetheart companion. They served for 18 months in Manchester and Leeds England missions as Self-Reliance and Perpetual Education missionaries beginning in 2015.

Jerry is survived by his brother Bart (Irene); his wife, Kay; their children Andrew Jerry “AJ” (Jennifer), and Kenneth Blaine (Renae) and added children Buddy Benson, and Gina Hamideht; 14 grandchildren: Tyler, Breanna, Zachary, Dallin, Autumn, Rebekah, James, Amy, Ian, Rachel, Nathan, Zithlaly, Jared, and Vivi, and 6 great grandchildren: Maddie, Olivia, Ellie, Clay, Layne, and Owen Lee; and many others who have looked to him as a father in their lives. Jerry was preceded in death by two of his brothers Chad Blaine and Karl Curtis, sister Lanette Allen, and daughter-in-law Debra Benson. 

Jerry will be remembered for his generosity to all, his integrity in fulfilling his duty to God, his accomplished career, his dedication to faith and family, his love of his grandchildren and his love of the outdoors. 

Our family expresses true gratitude to the wonderful, caring employees of Kane County Skilled Nursing Facility and Zion’s Way Hospice for helping us navigate the unknown territory of dementia and Parkinson’s Disease.  

Services will be in the Orderville Ward Building, Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 11:00 am with a viewing an hour before at 10:00 am. Interment will be in the Orderville Cemetery. Funeral preparations under the direction of Mosdell Mortuary.

Zoom link

https://zoom.us/j/95749721089?pwd=3RTC0UKUP0aLLVk7QiEJ4rHNkL516q.1

Zoom link for Jerry Curtis