Janet Geertsen Ormond

Our beloved Janet Geertsen Ormond, age 90, passed away peacefully in her home and surrounded by her family on Monday, October 20th, 2025. Jan was a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, and our dear friend. We miss her greatly, but our hearts are comforted by her sweet presence and the assurance that we will see her again.

Born to Harold and Elenor Geertsen of Salt Lake City, Jan was raised in a home of great love and faith and commitment to family. The extended family ultimately grew to 220 people still meeting every summer for a reunion in Bear Lake for the last 52 years. This was her ultimate happy place, and the highlight of her year, having not missed a single gathering until last summer due to her health.

Jan grew up in Salt Lake City and walked to Stewart School, East High School and the University of Utah where she graduated in Elementary Education. Being a teenager in the fifties were the glory days of her life. She’d say it was a time of innocence and great joy that would never come again and Jan took full advantage. She learned to jitterbug at a very young age on the tops of her daddy’s shoes, dancing to the tunes of Benny Goodman. Jan was a natural, music was in her blood, and she absolutely loved couple’s dancing, going on to win several competitions at the U. This was a time when people were often asked on dates based on their dance ability, and let’s just say Jan didn’t spend any lonely weekend nights at home. Jan also had a beautifully smooth alto singing voice, and one of the greatest highlights of her life was singing with her three best (lifelong) friends in the award-winning Alpha Chi Omega quartet. Most of all, singing with her father’s “Harold Geertsen Orchestra” at the legendary Salt Air, Coconut Grove, and Rainbow Rendezvous, were paramount memories she reflected on often.

Although traditional, Jan had an adventurous and curious spirit that couldn’t be tamed. Eager to see a world outside of Salt Lake, Jan took jobs teaching in Hawaii, Washington D.C., and San Francisco, often arriving with nothing more than a suitcase and a phone number of a possible roommate. It was in San Francisco where she met and fell in love with Curt Ormond, to whom she was married to for over three decades. Together they raised their three children in Woodmoor, Colorado. She fondly referred to as “kid heaven” as it was a small, wooded community, and an ideal place to raise a family. They had many great years there together but after divorcing, she returned home to Salt Lake where she resided in the same home on Creek Road for almost 30 years as an active member of the Willowcreek 7th Ward, her tribe. She loved each ward member dearly and they loved her back

Jan kept adventuring however, as traveling was just in her bones. Fearless and unafraid, she used these years to see the world. Whether alone or with a friend, she loved to explore and meet new people, striking up conversations with strangers, joining in their travels, sleeping in hostels together, or even taking people up on offers to stay in their homes. She always had some crazy stories to tell upon her return.

Jan took mothering and grand mothering as seriously as one could. She embraced the Geertsen “never miss a game” mentality with all that she had, spanning a lifetime of constant support. It was not uncommon to spot her at a game, with a rain bonnet on, sitting in her wheelchair, under an umbrella, bundled in blankets, cheering her little heart out. She attended wrestling matches, ball games, performances, birthdays, recitals, or any event involving family. Unless she was tethered to an IV, she was there. Jan learned to love sports growing up watching her three brothers compete in athletics. Watching sports was serious business for her, and watching BYU games would even trump family events at times. She always had some input for the coach of any team and she knew the stats and player details like the best of them. It was a lifelong obsession that continued to the very end.

Jan was an American original. She was affectionately dawned the nickname “G-dog” by her grandkids, a name so iconic and fitting it was adopted by many; a tiny person with a huge presence. A true Geertsen, she was feisty, strong-willed, and opinionated, but sentimental, loving, and a total softie to the core. She was famous for her beautifully wrapped gifts and her long and heartfelt cards that we will treasure forever.

Jan’s greatest loves in life were her family, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, travel, and sports. She had a steadfast belief and faith in her Savior Jesus Christ that carried her through healing from a major car accident, cancer, and multiple health scares over the years. She loved visiting the temple on a regular basis, studying the scriptures, serving as Relief Society President, serving in her ward, and the last thing she wanted to watch was a live broadcast of her sacrament meeting. Although she leaves a gaping hole in all of our lives, it is her steadfast belief in eternal life which gives us comfort and peace.

Jan is survived by her three children: Chip (Holly) Ormond, Scott Ormond, and Elizabeth Jolley.

Eight Grandchildren: Tyler (Sophie) Ormond, Natalie (Gage) Wilkinson, Zack (Kate) Ormond, Dillon (Stefany) Ormond, Shayne Ormond, Riley Ormond, Eleanor Jolley, Katherine Jolley

Five great grandchildren: Jude, Pippa, Miles, Ella, and Ava as well as countless nieces and nephews.

Her four siblings: Dennis Geertsen, Leonard Geertsen, Reed (Bette Geertsen), Marlene (Mike) Bennett

Preceded in death by her parents Harold and Elenor Geertsen, sister-in-law Barbara Geertsen.

A viewing for Jan will be held on Friday, October 24th from 6-8pm and on Saturday October 25th at 10am, followed by her funeral services at 11am at Willowcreek 7th Ward (2115 E. Creek Road, Cottonwood Heights, Utah.)

Interment near her parents at Mount Olivet Cemetery.