Scott Duncan Hartley

Scott Duncan Hartley passed away at home on January 31st, 2026 joining his loved ones gone before him after only a short 64 years.

Born in Salt Lake City on February 15, 1961, the youngest of 3 children, to Al Hartley and Marilyn Duncan. He grew up in Kearns, and spent countless hours in the pool as a member of the Kearns High swim team until he graduated in 1979.

Not long after high school, he married Holly Fox and together they had one daughter, April. They later divorced and he raised April with the help of his mother.

In 1995, he and Karen Mohler joined their lives and together, they raised his daughter April and Karen's daughters, Mary and Amy. Scott and Karen ran away and tied the knot in 2000 and were still married at his passing. After raising their daughters, they also helped raise their first two grandchildren, Garrett and Lucas.

Scott knew he wanted to be a locksmith early on and before he had even graduated high school, he had already completed a course and received a diploma in Advanced Locksmithing. After getting his start at Doug and Carl's, he joined Action Locksmith in 1987. He was good at what he did, and over the course of his career at Action Locksmith, he helped the business grow from one location to three. At the time of his passing, he was a part owner of the company. Over the decades, countless people in the Salt Lake Valley have been helped by his locksmithing skills.

Anyone who knows Scott, knows he has loved trains for his entire life. He loved to chase trains with his best friend Ray and over the last several years, he had meticulously turned a basement bedroom into a detailed model train layout. He spent many of his Saturdays at The Train Shoppe and helped repair model trains in his spare time.

Scott and Karen own 20 acres of property in the Northern Utah desert and he was planning to spend as much time as possible there after retiring. He loved the peacefulness and wide-open space and spent his free time up there whenever possible turning it into his home away from home.

He was an avid reader and highly intelligent, always learning something new or sketching out ideas for his property. His vocabulary included a plethora of uncommon words which he enjoyed slipping into conversations to see who noticed (and if you ever needed to spell pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, he was your guy). His stubbornness and independence were well known to anyone who ever met him; if something needed doing, he'd either figure it out himself or invent a new way to do it just to prove a point. His curiosity, determination, and sense of humor made him good company to be around.

Scott was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Eldean. Scott is survived by his wife Karen, brother Danny (Amber), daughter April (Jayson), stepdaughters Mary (Cort) and Amy (Elliott) and his four grandchildren, Garrett, Lucas, Braxtyn, and Kaylah.

A Celebration of Life will be held in his honor on March 7th, 2026 from 4pm-6pm at The Train Shoppe in Gardner Village, 1100 W. 7800 S. #29NW, West Jordan, UT 84088.