Darrell Eugene Jones

Darrell Eugene Jones was born July 12,1932 to Horace Burr and Ethel Elizabeth Jones in Salt Lake City, UT. He passed away peacefully, August 2, 2025, surrounded by family at the age of 93 in his home in Murray, UT.

Darrell grew up in the Highland Park Area of SLC. He graduated from South High School, where he was a member of the ROTC. During his school years he made lifelong friends who continued to get together well into their 80’s.

He was the youngest of 3 children and had a special bond with his sister Millie, affectionately called Sis, who was 13 years older than Darrell and was like a second mother. Family was so important to him and he shared many treasured memories of his childhood with us.

He attended the University of Utah for 2 years and was a devoted fan throughout his life. His brother and brother-in-law served in WWII while he was a young boy making a lasting impact and guiding him towards his military career. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1956, serving for 25 years and retiring with the rank of Commander. It was during his time at the Naval Academy that he became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After his first duty on the USS Lexington he realized that sea life was not for him and returned to school, obtaining a civil engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

While stationed in Hawaii he met Kathy Neeley who was also a Salt Lake native, they were sealed in the SLC temple and blessed with 3 children. Dad’s Naval career took them to places such as Thailand, Vietnam, and several years in Oakland, CA.

Following retirement from the military in 1976, his love of books led him to open up a family run bookstore in Midvale, UT. He enjoyed running the store for many years before returning to his engineering background and serving as Public Works Director and Director of Development Services for the City of West Jordan.

Shortly after retirement and 31 years of marriage, he tenderly cared for Kathy as she was sick with cancer and passed away. A couple of years later he met and married Kay Utley, they were a devoted couple until his passing. They served a mission to Laie, Hawaii and traveled the world, often flying on military cargo planes to get to their destinations. She affectionately called him “the Commander”.

Dad had a myriad of hobbies and interests. Among them were some of the following:

He started golfing as a youth when he worked as a caddy at the Salt Lake Country Club. He loved to golf wherever his travels took him. He was very proud of getting a hole in one.

His father had worked for the railroad and he often told stories about riding with his dad on trips to Pocatello and back. This led to his fascination with model railroads. He once even bribed Laurie to move to another room in the house so he could build a model railroad in her bedroom. He saved the biggest and best for last. His grandkids and now great grandkids have loved visiting Grandpa Jones to see the trains.

He loved anything historical, including family, pioneers, and war. He served for many years as a volunteer docent at the Church History Museum, where he would give tours and he also travelled to many local schools to talk about pioneers and Utah history. After that he served as a volunteer researcher at the Church History Library. He wrote reports on many of the Church’s historical buildings. He loved to share his knowledge with others.

He loved to travel and has visited all 50 states and many countries. We loved the family trips that he took us on every summer to Bear Lake or Island Park for the past 10 years. He cherished this time when we were all together.

The last few years Darrell struggled with dementia but his stories, humor, and love of family remained.

We love him deeply, miss him dearly, and will forever treasure the memories we shared with him.

He is survived by his wife Kay S. Jones, 3 children Bruce (Ronda) Jones, Laurie (Tony) Rehmer, Marti (Jon) Blotter, His 3 step sons Steve (Vicki) Utley, Christian (Brenda) Utley, Jon (Anna) Utley, His 20 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 16 at 11:00 am at the Green Oaks Chapel 932 W Green Oaks Dr. Murray, UT. Family and friends are invited to gather and pay their respects on Friday, August 15 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., and again on Saturday morning from 10:00-10:45 a.m. at the same location. Interment will follow at the Wasatch Lawn Cemetery.

Funeral services will be streamed at this link.

http://greenoaksward.org/remote

The family wishes to thank Tonga Sula and the hospice nurses and other staff of Community Nursing Services for the kindness and care that they provided.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Darrell’s name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. https://www.alz.org/