Kathryn Jarvis Jones

Kathryn Jones, daughter of Earl Jarvis and Lillian Loree Hamblin Jarvis was born the fourth of seven children, to a loving and hard-working family in the small town of St. Johns, Arizona, February 7, 1945. She passed away peacefully, Wednesday, August 14, 2024 in San Tan Valley, Arizona.

Her older siblings were Floyd, Maela and Mervin. Her younger siblings were Karl, Virgene and Dorothy (who passed away shortly after birth). As a large family with a meager income, her father worked very hard and so did all the kids that could earn an income. Earl was a cattle ranch hand who earned extra income by competing in calf roping at the rodeos. Loree taught her children a love of music and learning and they all grew up loving to read. Both Earl and Loree instilled a deep faith in and love for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While Kathryn mostly grew up in St. Johns, the family did also temporarily live in Durango, Colorado and Saint Cloud, Florida. Kathryn was in her high school student council and was also a cheerleader. While you would expect these activities would make Kathryn an extrovert, the opposite was true. Kathryn was shy in groups but familiar in one on one settings.

Kathryn met Melvin in 1961 through her best friend, Jeanne Udall, who was Melvin’s first cousin. Melvin was from a small town in the canyons of southern Utah call Escalante. He was tall, dark and handsome and very extroverted. They began dating in 1962. Melvin loved to do surprising and sometimes alarming things to get a rise and a laugh out of Kathryn and she always bore it well. When Melvin asked Earl for his daughter’s hand in marriage, Earl refused because Melvin used to drink, smoke and had no plans for serving a mission. Consequently, Melvin quit drinking and smoking immediately and shortly thereafter was called to the Ontario, Canada mission. Kathryn and Melvin wrote to each other all through his mission. When he returned, he secured her father’s blessings and proposed to Kathryn on the banks of “Little Rezzy” (as the St. Johns Reservoir was called at the time). They were married one month later.

Kathryn and Melvin lived in Provo, Utah while he was going to trade school. They welcomed their first son, Thomas Lawrence, while living there. Melvin secured a job with IBM and they moved to Sunnyvale, California where the family was joined by two daughters, SharLinda and Kathy Lynn. Another son, Mathew Lane, was born just before they moved to Milpitas, California. After a few years in Milpitas, Melvin and Kathryn felt like they wanted to live closer to family and a large LDS population, so Melvin secured a lateral move to Salt Lake City. While living in Utah they spent many weekends and vacations enjoying the beauty of Utah. Kathryn enjoyed doing crafts and baking. Melvin taught his kids how to camp and shoot guns. Visits to LDS Temple Square, especially around Christmas, were always a treat. In 1976, four years after their previous, they welcomed their last son, Michael Jarvis. A few months later the family moved to Tucson, Arizona to be even closer to family.

All five children grew up and graduated in Tucson. Because of Kathryn’s earnestness, all three of her sons earned the Eagle Scout award. All three sons and one of their daughters went on LDS missions. All five children were endowed in the Mesa LDS Temple and four of the five children were married there as well. Kathryn and Melvin loved living in Arizona and they built a vast network of friends and family. The children all grew up with deep connections to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. To ensure the family had enough, Melvin often worked overtime shifts and Kathryn worked as a babysitter and then as a secretary. She worked at the University of Arizona and then at the Tucson Police Department where her authenticity and charm fit in perfectly with the detectives and other transcriptionists. She left the Police Department in 1998 and Melvin retired from IBM in 2000 and they moved to Kathryn’s hometown of St. Johns. For a brief time Kathryn worked for the Apache County Recorder’s office. In 2022 they moved to San Tan Valley to live with their daughter, Kathy so that they would have better access to care and family. In Kathryn’s waning years she developed dementia but until only just recently she could still recognize and love all her children and grandchildren. Kathryn and Melvin were both very well loved in her waning years with frequent visits and calls from children, grandchildren, siblings, nephews and nieces and friends old and new.

Kathryn loved children and could build instant rapport with anyone. Her countenance always beamed. She was soft spoken, never swore, always went to church and fulfilled all her callings. She had a quiet testimony that she passed on to all her children. To her husband, she was the ever loving and supportive wife who made sure Melvin had a clean house and home cooked meals when he returned from work. She embraced all she knew, regardless of their backgrounds or identities and loved them sincerely. Over the course of decades, Kathryn and Melvin welcomed dozens of nephews, nieces, siblings, cousins and close friends into their home. All were welcome and all were granted the comfort, joy and peace of their home. Kathryn was a true saint in every sense of the word, humble and demure, stalwart in her faith, quietly persevering in her trials, authentic, joyful, honest to a fault and at times playful and a little bit of a tease. 

She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Melvin Jones, three siblings, five children, thirteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. 

She was preceded in death by two sisters and a brother, her parents and two grandchildren. We know she enjoys the warm embrace and love of her Heavenly Father and those family and friends who passed before her.

A funeral service will be held Friday, August 23, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. Johns Downtown Chapel, with visitation one hour prior. Interment will follow the funeral services at the St. Johns Westside Cemetery. 

A Celebration of Life Luncheon will be held Saturday, August 24, 2024 from 12:00-2:00 p.m. at 41246 N Barnes Parkway, Queen Creek, Arizona 85140. Family and friends invited and welcome. Food will be served and there will be ample time to share memories in groups large and small. Please contact one of the children (Tom, SharLinda, Kathy (aka Kate), Matt or Mike) with any questions and to let them know how many will attend.