Jon Allen Stephens, our beloved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend, passed away peacefully October 10, 1996, at the University of Utah Medical Center due to complications of a brain tumor.
Jon was born August 6, 1968, in Seattle, Washington, the oldest child of Jon D. and LaRaine Oakeson Stephens. He was raised in Portland, Oregon; Riverton, Wyoming; and Orem, Utah. He married his sweetheart, Michelle Bishop, on June 20, 1992, in the Salt Lake City LDS temple. They were blessed with two beautiful daughters, Shayli Brianne and Shanda May Stephens.Jon graduated from Mountain View High School (Orem, Utah) in 1986 and received his Masters of Accounting from Brigham Young University in 1993. He pursued his career for three years in Omaha, Nebraska, where he built a wonderful life for his family. Due to extended illness, they returned to Orem, Utah, to live.
Jon earned the rank of Eagle Scout and enjoyed serving in many church callings. He served an honorable LDS mission in the Netherlands, Amsterdam mission from 1987-1989. He had a genuine love for the gospel and a consistent desire to expand his knowledge. He had an avid interest in reading and computers, a great appreciation for nature, and a light-hearted desire to celebrate with friends. But above all else, his greatest joy was in caring for his princess Shelly and two angle girls.
Jon's life was an inspiration to all who knew him. He exemplified qualities of love, kindness, meekness, and humility. He tenderly led his family with a gentle heart, unselfishly meeting their needs before his own. Jon continually expressed unconditional gratitude for family, friends, and medical staff who cared for him. He lived life to the fullest, finding great happiness in small and simple things. Jon radiated a feeling of warmth, sensitivity, and compassion to those around him, always lifting spirits with his bright sense of humor, touching friends and strangers alike. With a cheerful countenance, despite overwhelming obstacles, he valiantly and courageously endured to the end without complaint.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters; his parents; sisters, LaDean (Aaron) Inouye; Juleen (Manuel) Metzner; and brother, Robert S. Stephens, all of Orem, Utah; grandmother, Avon Scott; and grandfather, Francis Oakeson, of Salt Lake City, Utah; grandfather, Allen O. (Ann) Stephens of Provo, Utah; 26 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Wanda May Stephens.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, October 15, 1996, at 11 a.m. at the Lakeridge Chapel, 665 So. 200 West, Orem, Utah. Friends are invited to visit with the family at 10 a.m., one hour prior to services. Interment in the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah.
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