John Scott Thomas

Loving Husband ~ Loving Father

John Scott Thomas drove up the river road with his coffee to watch the sunrise for the last time on November 21, 2023.

John was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and loved his family, friends and the wildlands of the state.

A man of many interests, he enjoyed camping, skateboarding, water sports and boating at an early age and also took up martial arts. John was an avid history buff, often going to the places that he wanted to learn about in person. His family was interested in rock art and the native peoples that chipped or painted the rock walls. He climbed mountains and hiked extensively in search of drawings, photographing them in hopes of preserving them for future generations. John was an avid glassware collector and was excited when a new find from an old desert trail, yard sale or thrift store turned out to be an Early American Pattern Glass piece from the 1880's that he could research and learn about. He had a good eye for spotting the older glass. John enjoyed a good dramatic cooking show and turned his talents to cooking, winning a cook off last year with his delicious Anasazi beans and ham recipe. He loved antiques and often would save a piece of furniture that might be overlooked, but he could see the beauty in it and would take it home to restore it. His real soft spot was for dogs and babies. If ever a child was crying, he would make funny faces and the baby would be laughing in no time. Never too busy, every dog was greeted and petted, every cat allowed on his lap and he never turned down a horseback ride!

Early on he set what career goals he would like to have and never stopped reaching for that next step, achieving the next level in his field.

Every site that John was a building engineer for, he would be involved with the federal, state and city, construction crews as well as the fire and police departments that served the area. But his real pride and interaction was with the crews that he worked directly with. The construction crews and his crews onsite were his main concern, their safety and training always coming first. Holding regular safety meetings, keeping up with all the new technology that could be used to keep the building tenants and his fellow workers safe was always a priority.

Every class that came up, he took and excelled at. The pool classes, the boiler classes and onsite training with people that installed new systems were all steps that presented themselves and he excelled at each new area, shouldering the new responsibilities that each brought.

John cared deeply about the people that worked with him and would mentor young engineers if they needed it and supported all of them with unwavering loyalty. Making sure they had what they needed to do the job that they were asked to do, ensuring fair treatment for all.

His family could not be more proud of John and what he achieved. Many times he implemented new programs and brought new solutions to the table, always working proactively to improve conditions for the staff, the tenants, the nature and wildlife that surrounded each property.

John worked at many sites in Colorado and Utah over the years, but the Utah desert, Moab specifically held a special place in his heart. His family would go to Moab every year when he was young and he loved it so. Recently he was able to expand his care and became active in bat conservation, installing numerous bat houses around the property to ensure they had a safe place to live. Also cultivating dragonfly conservation, bringing more of a population back to the swampland around the property in Moab, knowing both the bats and the dragonflies would naturally assist in mosquito abatement. John loved nature and people, he made the world a better place for being here with us.

John is survived by his wife, Kimberly Sue Sexton Thomas and his daughter, Heather Marie Thomas Sterner, his sister, Denise, his aunt Claudia, and numerous nieces and nephews.

We invite all who knew John to write their memories, come together here and be there for each other as we all grieve his loss and celebrate that we were able to know and love him.