"A UTAH MAN AM I"
Stanley Craig Jepson passed away unexpectedly at the age of 78 on Saturday, June 24th, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. “Stan” was diagnosed with M.S. (Multiple Sclerosis) in 1982 and courageously fought and battled the disease until his passing. Sadly, he lost his life to cancer while in the hospital. He was born on August 23,1944 in SLC, Utah to Raymond Jepson and Fern Alldredge and was the oldest of three.
He grew up in Salt Lake City where he met the love of his life, Bonnie Faye Allen. They met in 1961 and married shortly after on August 8, 1961. They had two children, a daughter Teresa Lynnette Terry and a son Lonny Craig Jepson.
He had many hobbies that he loved and enjoyed all the way up to his passing. They included music, sports and traveling across the United States with his wife. They married very young and they were known as (The Shitbirds) by family.
One of his biggest passions was the University of Utah, Runnin’ Utes Basketball Team. He was a lifelong season ticket holder and a longtime member of The Crimson Club. When he was able to travel, he would go to the Utes ‘away games’ since 1966. His favorite saying, “My favorite team is the RUNNIN’ UTES and anyone that beats BYU”. He was a diehard fan to the very end. GO UTES!
Regardless of the pain he was going through and his struggles to walk due to his M.S., he never missed a single home game, including the road games he never missed on TV. He never got over them losing the 1998 NCAA Championship.
He was a hardworking man starting at the age of 14. He got his start in the restaurant business working for the World Motor Hotel Restaurant Teogra, He started as a dishwasher working his way up to the prestigious culinary position of Sous-Chef and Executive Chef. He also worked at The Ambassador Club and the Salt Lake Country Club as an Executive Chef. He cooked the most amazing food for family and ALL the holidays. After leaving the restaurant business, he worked for Steiner American Linen Corporation for many years. After his diagnosis of M.S. in 1982, his dream to be a small business owner had finally come true. He started a roofing company which was not easy and became very successful. This led to the start of many other successful endeavors. This included a topsoil dump truck delivery service and lastly was his ATV/Utility trailer business which he was most proud of.
He had a special love for his grandmother, Ida Deseret Jaynes Alldredge who he just adored and honored his whole life. He loved spending time with his family, especially his loving wife of 62 years, Bonnie Jepson. He was quite the character and never missed an opportunity to tease his grandchildren. He was definitely the inventor of ‘Dad Jokes’.
He was a man’s man and his best strengths were his determination to overcome his weaknesses. He told it like it was and never minced a single word. His presence will be greatly missed and he will always be loved, honored and remembered as GRANDPA!!
“Stan” is preceded in death by his Father Raymond Jepson, Mother Fern Alldredge, sister Michelle (Toody) Openshaw, brother Daren Tedrick and his grandmother Ida Deseret Alldredge. Also, many relatives including grandparents, aunts and uncles.
He is survived by his wife Bonnie Faye Jepson; daughter Teresa Lynnette Terry; and son Lonny Craig Jepson (Crystal) whom he would call ‘Crystal Gayle’. Crystal was the ONLY one who could call him Stanley, they had a special bond. Also survived by his eight grandchildren John Gines, David Gines, Ramon Jepson, Janelle Heugly (Brian) Lonny Jepson Jr. (Zoie), Josh Jepson (Sabrina), Damien Jepson and Aryssa Jepson. He also had fifteen great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Also, our family would like to give a huge hug and thank you to all the doctors, nurses and medical staff at the Riverton Intermountain- Healthcare Hospital as well as Larkin Mortuary. We are all blessed for all that you do!!!
There will be a celebration of life on Saturday, July 29th at the Alpine Bible Church in Lehi, from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Address: 310 E State St, Lehi, Utah.
Great Grandpa, I know you're safe now and no more pain in heaven, I miss you keep an eye on me and letting me watch cocomelon on your big TV, Thank you for always making me feel so welcome at your home, I love you very much and Heaven is lucky to have you, I'm sure going to miss you, your Great Granddaughter Azaria Zarie Martinez
Pops, you are so greatly missed, you are no longer in pain and suffering, you gave it one heck of a battle, tough as nails you always was, now your back with your mom and Grandma, probably still arguing with "MA" about whatever and you've found some recliner to sit and watch a Ute game and tell your favorite old jokes too someone lol, we miss and love you dearly, till we see each other again, GO UTES!!!
Love Lonny, Crystal, Aryssa, Azaria and Indy pooh...
To my dearest Dad-io. I never thought I would ever feel such pain. My heart is physically broken and will never be the same. I'm writing this to you pops as a way to heal as much as I can. I never truly knew what a broken heart felt like until June 24th when I lost you, my wonderful father. Heaven gained a beautiful soul, who is no longer in pain. How lucky are they? No more dealing with that awful disease and no more struggling to walk. You are now our guardian angel, you fly high dad, you're free. I have so many precious memories from the time I could talk until the moment I had to say goodbye. You left a beautiful legacy dad and I couldn't be more proud to call you my dad. I will miss you for a long time and I know I'm going to have a lot of sad days that are unbearable. But I also know I will have beautiful days thinking of you, the way you made us great meals, you told the dumbest jokes and you were the only one laughing. I think you showed me chewed up food in your mouth every chance you got just to gross me out. What I'd give to have another day with you. Listening to your stories, your dad jokes but I would laugh with you knowing It'd be the last time. I will miss everything about you. Our family lost an amazing man who impacted all of our lives. You were such a strong man and how much you suffered was never known because you had too much pride and didn't want to put anyone out? I sit here with tears rolling down my face knowing what an unbelievably strong and prideful man you were. My hat's off to you dad. You truly are a trooper and dealt with the pain like a manly man. Please watch over Mom, she's unbelievably sad and misses you something awful. Lonny and I are being strong for her, but our little family will never be the same pops. Please watch over me and Lonny and all your grandchildren. You're going to be a busy guardian angel but a very loved one. I will see you on the other side when my day has come and know you'll be waiting for me with open arms. Until we meet again pops, I'll see you in paradise. I love you forever and will miss you every single day of my life, your Loving daughter, Teresa
To the greatest gramps- words can't even express how much my heart misses you, knowing I'll never hear your corny jokes, hear you say "hey" and when I look, you say "you're so pretty", or have you ask me to "see those Faith Hill lips!". I play these over and over in my head so I don't forget the sound of your voice. I know my heart hurts but it heals knowing you're no longer suffering, because you didn't deserve that. You were my one and only grandpa, but you were all I ever needed. Thank you for being the best gramps I could ask for, and now the best angel I'll ever have, I will love you forever.
To my dearest husband and best friend Stan (Tooter),
How do I ever express how much I love you and how much I will truly miss you. We've been together 62 Years and honestly what a ride, we have shared so much laughter and tears through all these years. Lots of dreams have come true for us because we made sure it happened never forgetting all our dreams and hopes for our two children. We only wanted the best for them, I truly believe we accomplished that, they sure made us happy, we truly hope that they were happy too.
You and I always wanted to have a happy, loving, family, We both worked very hard to have a good life for us all, I can truly say our famous quote was; "We did it our way always", all we had was each other, we had very little family to help us out with any advice, money or even a great baby sitter lol. We worked different shifts so our kids did not need a baby sitter, we were always the sitters for our kids, That's the way we wanted it. Along with the love of our children, we loved to travel together, we travelled from one end of the country to the other, vacations was always a fun time for us, quality time spent together was very important to us and a must.
We married young and always thought we would succeed to have a wonderful marriage with two great kids. We always talked about what our goals would be and great minds do think alike, from our kids, to our home and anything else that mattered we always thought it through together, right, wrong or indifferent. You did such a wonderful job on anything that you tried to do, the best cook ever no doubt, but not to sharp on doing the dishes, But you were the cook and I was the maid. You had so many hobbies, honestly I don't even know how you had so many different hobbies, sports of all kinds, music was always your favorite and you had a great collection starting at a young age, you always worked long hours, still found time to do your hobbies or able to cook those great homemade Mexican dinners for our family get togethers.
Honestly I could go on and on about how loving, caring and most of all what a great man you were, you struggled for over 40 years with M.S. and you remained strong and never gave up or quit no matter how miserable your body felt or how pooped out you were, you always were strong and tough as nails... But on the bright side, in your mind you never believed you had that disease. In your mind Vicks and Vaseline cured anything and everything, Silly of you Tooter, the things you thought would work haha. I hope you were proud of how I took good care of you all the way till the end, I truly gave it my all and you always said I was such a trooper, your famous Stan last words right before you went with the angels to heaven to see your loving family on the other side excited to give you hugs and kisses once again.
My dearest Tooter until we meet again in heaven, I promise you I will love you forever & ever, amen. No one could ever fill your shoes or my heart. I will watch over our family and we will laugh and cry together because now I'm cooking dinner for them and not you. I love you with all of my heart and your family is missing your presence and jokes,
Your loving friend, wife forever, just wait for me, hugs and kisses,
Jo-Jo
Dear Grandpa,
The news of your passing has filled me with immeasurable sorrow. My heart aches with a pain so deep that no words can truly describe the profound sense of loss I feel. You were so much more than a grandfather to me.
The memories we made together over the years are some of my most cherished. I remember all those summer every spending with you, though we had our ups and downs. And can’t forget everytime we would eat at the dinner table we would gross each other out, or fight over who gets the food lol, listening to your stories of growing up. I remember the weekend afternoons we spent outside, enjoying life while you taught me how to build things with my own hands. I remember the stories you would tell that always carried a valuable life lesson. But most of all, I remember simply feeling loved, supported and seen by you in a way that very few others ever have.
You taught me the importance of compassion, honesty and hard work. You celebrated every victory, no matter how small. You made me feel like I truly mattered. You helped shape me into the woman I am today by instilling in me the values of integrity, wisdom and kindness. I strive every day to honor the lessons you taught me and to pass them on to my own children, so that a part of you lives on.
Though nothing can truly fill the void left by your absence, I find solace knowing that you are finally at peace, reunited with “ma”. I pray that you watch over our family from heaven. We will hold you in our hearts forever and keep your memory alive through the stories we share.
I love you dearly, Grandpa. Thank you for everything you gave me your time, your wisdom, and most importantly, your unconditional love. I hope that one day, when my journey on this earth has ended, I will see you again and be able to properly express everything that I didn’t get to say to you when you were here.
I love you grandpa to my one and only grandpa
Until we meet again,
Aryssa jepson
To my dearest Stan,
You're passing was a sad moment in my life. I write this message to you with the heavy heart of sadness. You were one of a kind. Funny, a great cook, the most loving
Grandpa I have had ever the pleasure to meet. A wonderful dad to your kids and mine (Crystal). The pain you endured with MS Is the hardest thing any one person could take but you did with grace and honor because of the man you were. I can honestly say that you were one of my dearest friends for years. You will always be in my prayers and thoughts. May heavenly Father hold you tight for all of us who loved you plenty and will miss you dearly. My prayers were sent to heavenly Father to take good care of you. I love you and Bonnie. You will always be in my thoughts and heart. Goodbye my dearest friend. ❤🙏💐
-Shirley and Family
Gramps you will always be loved and missed !! You were and still are a great role model for all those that knew you. You had an amazing sense of humor and such a hard work ethic. I am so happy to say that every memory I have with you was always positive.
I will always cherish the Running Utes because of you, Chilli cheese hot dogs, and Corpus Christi, Texas.
You were always positive even when you were in pain and thanks for being the best Grandpa I could ask for. I love you forever and can't wait to see you in the next chapter of life.
Dear Grandpa,
Even through all the valuable lessons and advice you gave me throughout the years, and the many times you repeated over and over to me, to enjoy life and not to take time for granted..... Well I still did, and for that I have no choice but to feel sad in my heart for the time that I missed to be around you.....
Oh but how blessed am I to have been your grandson while you were here on earth with us!
The imprint that you left on my heart will definitely outweigh the sadness, for the fact that I was so lucky to have shared such precious moments with you....
You taught me not only with words, but also with your actions. The importance of family, what love looks like, why loyalty is crucial, and how forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves.... and I will forever carry those lessons with me as core values in my life.
I love you Gramps, and if life was a game of chess, you never tipped your king, and you played the whole game out until the very end, and for that I shake your hand with the utmost respect!
I now know that you are pain free.... so until we meet again, I will do my best to make you proud!
Forever, and ever, your grandson,
David Brandon Gines
Oh stan, where to even begin. I came into this family just over 13 years ago. You accepted me and took me in as one of your own grandkids. I can say I probably wasn’t prepared the first few times we went out as a family. You spoke your mind and told it how it was (even those things you probably should keep to yourself). You definitely didn’t get out of an outing without turning red a few times. You always had us laughing with your big sense of humor. You created some amazing memories with your grandkids. Allowing us to be able to to carry those things to your great grandkids. From you passing that love of sports and the Utes onto the next generations. My kids always have some sort of Utes gear in their closet. To traveling and going new places. You were always such a good man. Thanks so much for always being such an amazing, loving, dedicated hard working man. You will be missed by so many. Love ya stan the man Love sabs.
Grandpa Stan, we love you so much and are going to miss you a lot. Thank you for taking our dad to Texas. He shared that with us and it’s one of our favorite vacations. We love the Utes, and will always carry that with us as well. We love and miss you.
Kadence, Adilynn, Raylin.
Dear Uncle Stan
I’m so heartbroken at your passing. In all my life of knowing you, you always had such a great and kind disposition and a remarkable can-do attitude. Even with everything that you went through with your health, I never heard you complain. And then there’s that wonderful sense of humor of yours. I honestly have nothing bad to say about you and only good memories of you, Uncle Stan because of your kindness and warmth you’ve always shown to me and my family. Because of this you will always hold a special place on my heart as my favorite uncle. I will always regret not making more of an effort to visit you and Aunt Bonnie. Some lessons you learn the hard way, and this is one of those lessons for me. My heart is broken for Aunt Bonnie, Teresa, Lonny, Crystal and all the grandkids. I know how much you all love each other and can only imagine how much they miss you. I hope you're at peace and finally out of pain. Rest well and easy Uncle Stan, you've more than earned it. I love you and will miss you.
Love, Ashley Rose