The Right Rev.
Carolyn Tanner Irish
Episcopal Diocese of Utah
"On Nov. 22, 1963, I was listening to the radio while ironing in my home in Ann Arbor, Mich. Hearing the news that President Kennedy had been shot, I ran to tell my husband at the Law School at the University of Michigan. We returned to our home and sat before the television set for the next 48 hours. It took many days to sink in, and in retrospect, we were most likely in shock for most of that time."
Bishop
George Niederauer
Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
"I had been ordained a priest for about a year and a half. I was at the Name of Jesus School in Los Angeles, California. I was sitting in my room reading and my phone rang and my mother called with the news. I turned on the TV. It was a Friday, about noon, in California. Then, everything kind of stopped for the weekend. . . . It was an enormous shock."
Larry Miller
S.L. businessman and Utah Jazz owner
"I was at work at Mountain States Bindery, 1900 W. North Temple. . . . When I first heard the news, it was simply that the president had been shot. I recall thinking, 'Boy, I hope he's OK.' Two or three hours later the news came that he was dead and everyone was in shock."
Olene Walker
Utah governor
She was in the kitchen at her home, wearing a plaid maternity shirt, when she heard the sad news on the television. She said she recalls events very well because she was pregnant with her sixth child, born less than a week later, on Nov. 27.
Bob Bennett
senator (R-Utah)
"I was sitting in my father's office in Washington, D.C., as an administrative assistant. I was on the phone to my stockbroker in Salt Lake City. He interrupted me to say that President Kennedy had been shot and asked me what I knew. I hadn't heard anything yet. . . . We didn't know if he was dead or wounded for a long time. . . . Naturally, I was filled with wonder and anxiousness. . . . We were glued to the TV all weekend."
Kent Powell
Utah state historian
"I was a senior at Emery County High School in Castle Dale. I had just finished my American Problems class and was in my type class when the intercom came on . . . and our principal A.G. Kinder announced that President Kennedy had been shot. . . . It was as though a dark and oppressive cloud had rolled down off the Wasatch Plateau to envelop the high school and all of us in it."
Cal Rampton
former Utah governor
"I had just returned to my law office in the old El Paso Building, where the Salt Lake City police are headquartered now. The secretaries had heard about it over the radio and told me. I was devastated. A great man was gone. Also, I had plans to run for governor that next year and this upset the whole schedule of Democratic candidates. . . . Democrats lost a great deal in President Kennedy's passing."
Jon Huntsman Sr.
businessman
"I was at one of our small plants in Oakland, California. I heard the news flash on the radio. . . . We didn't have televisions at the plant in those days, and so we put the radio on the public address system. It was a very, very bad day. It was just one of those events that I will never forget."
Rocky Anderson
Salt Lake mayor
He was in his Utah history class at Mt. Ogden Junior High School and said they watched television coverage for what seemed like hours. He was very saddened and confused by the tragedy. He also remembers being angry that an older student was running down the hall cheering.
Ray Campbell
Salt Lake City
"I'd been home from my LDS Church mission just two months and remember hearing about it on the radio. . . . It gave me a kind of sick feeling — he was the president."
Louise Sarno
West Valley City
"I was in a history class.... I was dumbfounded. Our (school) band had played during his inauguration."
Peggy Shepherd
Alpine
"I was at school. It was my senior year, and it was just a really sad day."
Joe Weakland
Salt Lake City
"It was the day before my birthday. I was at home watching TV. I was stunned and I cried. I had shook hands with him when he was campaigning in San Diego."
Darlene Sandstrom
Salt Lake City
"I was a freshman in a math class. It was announced on the P.A. system. I just couldn't believe it. Some kids were so upset they had to go home. Others were crying."
John Stoneman
Salt Lake City
"I was in third grade. The school only had one TV, so they brought everyone into the auditorium . . . I just couldn't believe the president was dead."
Compiled by Lynn Arave, Deseret Morning News