Guy Watts

Guy G. Watts, age 61, passed away unexpectedly in his home during the early hours of Thursday, August 28, 2025. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Ronald G. Watts and Betty Firth who preceded him in death and welcomed him to his heavenly home.
Guy grew up in east Murray with wonderful neighbors and in a loving community. As a young boy he could be seen running around the neighborhood with his friends and playing sports with baseball as his favorite pastime. He played on little league teams with his friends while their fathers coached the team. He attended Murray High School where he excelled in his studies and played on the tennis team, golf teams, and baseball teams throughout his high school years.
He met Vangee in high school and they became sweethearts in their senior year. He graduated from Murray High in 1982 and went to college to pursue a degree in communications. He and Vangee were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple in September of 1987 and he graduated from the University of Utah in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications/Public Relations.
Guy loved to talk with people, get to know them, and developed many friendships in his lifetime through his associations in his work and church callings. He had many professions as he searched for the best opportunities to provide for his family. He worked as a regional manager for Video II and traveled to several states while fulfilling his responsibilities for them. He worked for American Express as a regulatory relations manager and also held a position in the compliance departments of American Express and Wells Fargo Bank. He was working for Optum Bank as a compliance manager until his passing. Guy was always a proponent of using his time to the fullest and he had several part-time positions that he worked extra hours per week as well as his full-time positions. The latest one that he held was with Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary. He loved this part time work because he said that he got to help people through a difficult time in their lives.
Service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was instrumental in Guy's life and he held many different callings within the church. Some of his most memorable callings were as Young Men's President, 2nd and 1st Councilor in two separate Bishoprics, a Stake High Councilor, Elders Quorum President, and lastly as the Bishop of the Riverview Ward. He had the unique ability to make everyone he talked with feel seen and understood and he made it his goal to get to know everyone in his ward under his care.
During his busy life, Guy managed his time well and was able to spend many hours with his family and friends doing the things he loved. Because he enjoyed playing baseball in high school he continued in his college years by playing softball on various teams including Page Brake. He loved coaching his children in sports such as tennis, soccer, basketball, flag football, and baseball.
Thanks to his Video II job, he was able to spend weekends watching new release movies with his family after they had gone to the offices to do "a little work" before their movie. He also enjoyed golfing with his friends on Saturday mornings, going to play pickleball with his family, and delivering birthday treats to the youth in his ward and texting birthday wishes to ward members. Above all, one of his two favorite hobbies was spending time visiting with neighbors and community members to ensure they knew they were loved and cared for. He also loved to sit in his front yard and visit with those who walked by. The other favorite hobby was doing family history work and then going to the temples, performing ordinances for the dead. He kept a spreadsheet of all the work that he was doing.
Guy is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Vangee Ann Salinas; his two children Ashten, and Ian; his brother Lance Watts (Christy); his sister Andrea Nielson (Rick); his aunt Connie Mosher; cousins, nieces and nephews, and many great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.
A celebration of Guy's life will held on Saturday September 6th, 2025 at 11:00 am in the Murray Parkway LDS Stake Center, 619 W. 5750 So., Murray, Utah, where a viewing will be held on Friday September 5th from 5 - 8 pm and also Saturday prior to the service from 9 - 10:15 am.
His burial will follow the services in the Murray City Cemetery.
Services will be webcast beginning at 10:30 am Saturday and viewable during and following the services at Jenkins-Soffe.com
Webcast link: https://jenkins-soffe.com/obituaries/guy-watts
The family would like to thank Murray City Police, Fire and EMS for their quick response and efforts on his behalf. We'd also like to thank Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary for their kindness and support through this difficult time. To honor Guy, the family would like to encourage everyone to work on their family history, visit a nearby temple, and spend time with loved ones.