Ethan Floyd Otteson

Our beloved Ethan Floyd Otteson, 17, returned home to the loving arms of his Heavenly Father while surrounded by his family on September 26th, 2024. Ethan was born on June 4th, 2007 in Layton, Utah. Ethan is the fourth of five children born to Lynn and Kaycee Otteson.

Ethan lived life to its fullest. When Ethan was two years old he caught his very first fish. When Ethan was three years old he asked for a two wheel bike. The bike originally came with training wheels, but Ethan had those training wheels off in no time. Ethan loved to go and do as much as he possibly could. When he was five Ethan joined a soccer team. Ethan held the team together and was the best little soccer player out there. Ethan continued to love soccer and played on several comp teams over the years. 

From the time Ethan was born people were drawn to him. We would be walking around the grocery store and random people would come up to talk to Ethan. This always became the case. When Ethan began elementary school all the kids were drawn to him. It would be time for recess and Ethan would have a group of 10 kids following behind him. He would be walking in the front of the group with the biggest smile on his face. Ethan was enrolled in the French immersion program. He met some of his best friends in his French classes. 

As Ethan got older he loved to be athletic. He loved soccer, pickleball, biking, golfing, boating, swimming, and anything he could do to be outside. He would spend every waking minute outside if he could. He loved to go camping, fishing, kayaking, and hammocking. Ethan loved going to scout camps and participating in various activities. 

Ethan loved the Kansas City Chiefs more than anything. Ethan would look forward to the games each week as he fought his own fight against cancer. Every time the Chiefs won it would give Ethan greater strength and motivation to keep fighting. Ethan made several connections at the hospital with doctors, nurses, and parents who loved the Chiefs. Even though some people would have their own team, when Ethan was struggling they would always tell Ethan that they were praying that the Kansas City Chiefs would win for Ethan. 

Ethan was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He loved serving in various priesthood callings. Even when Ethan was in the hospital, he made it a priority to watch sacrament meeting from his phone. He made sure the missionaries at the hospital would bring him the sacrament. Ethan has the strongest testimony of His Savior Jesus Christ. Ethan would pray for answers to his questions and he would be given the answers. Ethan would always know what was going on before we did. Ethan was so incredibly in tune with the spirit. 

On December 17th, 2021, Ethan was diagnosed with B-cell ALL Leukemia. He immediately started treatments at Primary Children’s Hospital. Ethan’s medical professionals laid out a 2 1/2 year plan. Ethan went through rigorous rounds of chemotherapy to treat his cancer. Ethan finished his last chemo on April 8th, 2024. Our family and doctors were excited and beyond proud of Ethan. On April 24th, 2024, Ethan rang the bell and we celebrated Ethan being cancer-free! He had fought so hard and was so diligent in his treatments. Never once did he complain about his circumstances or the experiences he has been through.

The following week, Ethan knew that something was wrong. On May 3rd, 2024, Ethan’s cancer was back. His cancer was detected at such a small level, 1/1,000,000. Little did we know that his cancer would be so aggressive. Doctors across the country and world began making a plan of action for Ethan. Doctors started testing our family for a potential bone marrow match for Ethan. At the end of May, we found out that Mason is Ethan’s 100% bone marrow match.

In June, Ethan qualified for a CarT study in the UK. Ethan’s T-cells were harvested at Primary Children’s Hospital and then shipped to the UK for treatment. As we waited for Ethan’s T-cells to come back, Ethan’s cancer was growing out of control. Doctors tried several chemos to get Ethan’s cancer under control in preparation for the T-cells to come back. Ethan’s T-cells came back from the UK in July. Doctors continued to try to treat Ethan’s cancer and finally made the decision to go ahead with the T-cells even though Ethan was considered a very high risk for this procedure. On August 27th, they gave Ethan his T-cells and the T-cells began fighting the cancer like crazy. Ethan spent his last summer staying at Primary Children’s Hospital including several stays at the PICU. 

Ethan’s team of doctors were hopeful that the T-cell treatment would work to get Ethan back into remission so we could start a bone marrow transplant. On September 20th, doctors gave Ethan the news that his cancer was all over in his body and that there was nothing else they could do. They gave Ethan only a few days to live. Over the next few days Ethan had hundreds of visitors. Neighbors, friends, family, and doctors and nurses who loved Ethan. It was overwhelming to watch the love that each person had for Ethan. On September 24, Ethan got the call that he had graduated from Davis High School. One of Ethan’s last wishes was to graduate High School. The Child Life Department at Primary Children’s Hospital threw Ethan a graduation. They made him a cap and a diploma until the real diploma would arrive in May. To our surprise hours before Ethan passed, his cap, gown and diploma arrived at the hospital. Our last memories of Ethan are celebrating his graduation with his real diploma. 

Ethan was our hero! He fought his cancer battle with a smile on his face. He always would put people’s needs before his own. Even in his last days he wanted everyone else to be comfortable and feel loved even though his life was quickly coming to an end. We are incredibly proud of you Ethan. You were the miracle. We will miss you more than anything. Ethan, we LOVE YOU so much!!

Ethan is survived by his parents, his siblings Mckenzie (Dakkon Toone), Jamie, Mason and Kenyon, Grandma Scott, and Grandpa Scott. Ethan has several aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that will miss him dearly. 

Ethan is preceded in death by his Grandpa Otteson, Grandma Otteson, Aunt Ann Otteson, and Uncle Allen Tidwell.

A viewing will be held in Ethan’s honor on Thursday October 3rd, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Russon Mortuary, in Farmington, Utah. Friday October 4th, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM followed by the funeral at 11:00 AM held at the Kaysville Crestwood Stake Center. Ethan will be interred at the Kaysville Cemetery.

The service will be streamed live on the Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and on this obituary page below, where it will appear 10-15 minutes prior to the service.

The ward will also be providing a Zoom meeting to stream the services. You can join the zoom at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/95586098359

On Ethan’s behalf we would like to thank Ethan’s worldwide team of medical professionals. We would like to give a special thanks to all of the doctors, nurses, and techs at Primary Children’s hospital. We would also like to thank an incredible Bishop Brad Olsen who was there for Ethan every step of the way. We would also like to thank the Oak Woods Ward along with Ethan’s friends for all of the love and support over the last three years as Ethan battled cancer. Finally, we would like to say a very special thank you to Davis High School for making it possible for Ethan to graduate high school before graduating this life.