Jayson Alexander Earl (Alex)

Jayson Alexander Earl, or Alex by those that knew him, unexpectedly passed away on the morning of June 9, 2023 surrounded by his close family. After presenting to the University of Utah hospital with severe abdominal pain on June 7th it was discovered that Alex had undiagnosed advanced Crohn’s Disease. He went into emergency surgery for an emergency bowl resection and his initial prognosis for
recovery was good but, his condition declined over night and that following morning, he succumbed to post-op clinical deterioration which led to cardiopulmonary arrest. Alex was 26.

Alex was born March 20, 1997 in Logan, Utah to Shawn and Valerie Earl and was brother to Brady and Tori Earl. In 2013 the Earl family moved to Herriman, Utah where Alex attended Herriman High school and competed in his first Utah High School Science Olympiad in the Geology Division where he placed 2nd in State. This was a defining moment in Alex’s life and it set him on the path of mineralogy. Soon afterward, Alex began attending the Mineral Collectors of Utah Club meetings here in Salt Lake City where he met many “like-minded” individuals, three in particular. Brent Thorne, Chuck Adan and Andrew Turner. Alex also became a registered member of Mindat in February of 2014 and began posting his mineral photography on that site.

Alex had many competing hobbies and interest of which building plastic models was one of his favorites. In particular he built models from the NASA Space Program but also liked building early US and German experimental jet aircraft. He was a member of the International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS-USA) and a member of the local Salt Lake IPMS club since 2013.

After graduating high school in 2015, Alex started working toward preparing himself for a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was still a couple years away from that calling so during this time Alex went mineral collecting with his new found friends Brent, Chuck and Andrew. These three men took Alex under their wing and showed him the “ropes” of mineral collecting, inviting him on several collecting trips. In March of 2016, Brent, Chuck and Andrew along with Alex’s dad Shawn all went on such a trip to the Otto Mountains of California near Baker, collecting at the Birds Nest Drift and the Blue Bell mine. This was a Canon Event for Alex and thus began his keen interest in the small world of the Micro Mount hobby of mineral collecting.

In May of 2017, Alex was called to serve his mission in Indonesia. Alex enjoyed his mission immensely teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and serving the people there. He excelled at the language and studied the many different dialects like Javanese, Sudanese, local Malay, Madurese and Minangkabau. On his prep. Days, Alex would often spend his time studying the different minerals of the region, the plant life and general geomorphology of Indonesia. Another one of Alex’s favorite interests was volcanoes and Indonesia was a perfect place for it.

Alex served an honorable mission and returned home in May of 2019. In July of that year, Alex bought a 1987 Suzuki Samurai after falling in love with them during his time in Indonesia (they are everywhere there). His Samurai became his ongoing project from the day he bought it. On his own he installed a rebuilt engine, replaced the suspension, installed a hardtop and worked hard to save the rusting body by patching, sanding, welding and repainting. He also installed sound deadener, re-did the entire electrical system and recarpeted the interior along with many other improvements too numerous to mention during the four years he had with it. It was his second love.

In September of 2019 Alex started working at IKEA in Draper to pay for classes he had started taking at the Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). He was taking course there that would set him on track for a career in the field of Nuclear Engineering. Unbeknownst to Alex during this initial orientation class at IKEA he would meet his first love and future wife Hannah who also started working at IKEA at the same time. Alex and Hannah worked alongside each other in the same department but, didn’t really get to know each other personally till February of 2021 when they started working more closely on projects together in the warehouse. Hannah knew of Alex’s passion for minerals and it was around this same time that she gifted Alex a Brazilian Water Agate. An Agate that contains a cavity filled with water that’s millions of years old. Alex was elated! So, he in turn gifted Hannah an Included Topaz with Rhyolite from the Maynard’s claim in the Thomas range in Juab County, Utah. Game, set, match.

By March of 2021 Alex and Hannah went on their first date and by April they had gone on the first of what would be many digs and collecting trips together. It was on one of those trips at the Red Beryl pit of the Thomas Range of Juab County that Alex and Hannah collected Topaz, Bixbyite, Red Beryl and one of Alex’s personal favorites, Holfertite. The Red Beryl they collected would later be used to craft their wedding rings. Hannah also started attending the Mineral Collectors of Utah club meetings with Alex and got to meet all the great people there.

By this time Alex had become quite the knowledgeable amateur and super interested in Micro Minerals. Teaming up with Brent Thorne and Chuck Adan in collecting at the upper dumps of the North Star mine in the Tintic District (Alex’s most favorite place to collect). The trio have discovered a multitude of mineral species from those upper dumps of the North Star Mine. Alex loved the region so much that he Co-Authored on a soon to be published issue of the Mineralogical Record on the Tintic Mining District near Eureka, Utah.

Alex specialized in Uranium, Tellurium and Selenium minerals as well as other mineral species found in Utah. In his brief years of collecting, he had amassed a very respectable collection with many rare species. He had become quite an accomplished Micro Mount photographer and frequently posted photos of minerals and localities to the Mindat website with over 2500 photos posted to date.

Alex had become a fixture at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show, Micro Mount suite as well as the Northern California Mineralogy Association and the Pacific Micro Mount Conference. Many had come to envision Alex as the “future face” of the Micro Mount hobby but despite his rising success Alex remained humble and approachable, happy and willing to share his knowledge with anyone, especially with his club friends and was a complete joy to be around. His non condescending tone and personality were a draw to many and his willingness to help others extended beyond borders to mineral collectors all over the world.

Alex is survived by his wife Hannah Earl, his parents Shawn and Valerie Earl, his older brother Brady (Em) and younger sister Tori; as well as a wide circle of relatives and friends who will never forget Alex’s memory.

A celebration of life will commence on Thursday, June 29, 2023 from 12:00p.m. to 2:00pm at the Larkin Sunset Gardens, Le Jardin at 1910 Dimple Dell Rd. Sandy, Utah 84092.

This service is dedicated to celebrating Alex’s remarkable life and will be a heartfelt tribute, honoring his memory, and embracing the cherished moments shared with him. Come as you are, this is not a formal attire event. Alex would not approve.

At a later date to be determined, there will be another memorial service for the placement of a small plaque at the area of the Upper Dumps of North Star Mine. This small gathering will provide an opportunity for close family and friends to bid a final farewell in a more serene and intimate setting.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly request that donations be made in Alex’s honor to Mindat.org. Contributions can be made at the following website: www.mindat.org just follow the donation link at the top of the web page. These donations will support the causes that are near and dear to Alex’s heart, ensuring the preservation and continued existence of mineral collecting and photography for generations to enjoy.

The Earl family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude for your presence and support during this difficult period. Your love and compassion are deeply appreciated as we honor and celebrate Alex’s life and come together to find solace and strength in the memories, we hold dear.