Jess Darron Hansen

Jess Darron Hansen was born on June 26th, 1964 to Nola Rock Hansen and Thayne Hansen in Taylorsville, Utah. He passed after a valiant battle with cancer in the afternoon of August 8th, 2016 surrounded by his loved ones. He is survived by his lovely wife Cynthia, daughters Marissa and Tazia, sons Jess Jr. (JD) and Ryan, grandsons Franklin and Kaelan, sisters Suzette, Deanne, and Naoma, and brother Todd.

Jess spent his youth in Taylorsville, Utah, attending Cottonwood High School and graduating from Taylorsville High School. In a journal he wrote at 26, Jess remembers his childhood fondly, full of love from his parents and siblings. He recalls having a very strong bond with his sisters; Suzette was his mother when his mother was working, Deanne was the one he could talk to about anything, and he and Naoma were the most competitive being the closest in age. He wrote that his brother Todd “could do no wrong in my eyes” and he wanted to copy and do everything Todd did. He earned all of his Scout badges except for Eagle Scout, which he was very close to attaining. As a teenager, his friends remember that Jess was a friend to everyone and that everyone loved him. He was always very thoughtful, and a great writer with a huge heart. He did have a bit of a wild streak, and he was a confident but not cocky teenager. He had an intense passion for music, especially Earth Wind and Fire, Toto, and Scorpions, and he loved going to concerts. He was very excited about the launch of MTV, and spent hours waiting for the premier of the Michael Jackson Thriller video and spent many Friday nights at his friend’s home staying up all night watching MTV. His prized possession was his blue Firebird with white leather interior and great stereo system, you could hear his music coming before you could see the car. He would drive everyone to school in the morning, picking up each friend as he went and razzing them if they were late. He enjoyed lots of hikes and cookouts in the mountains with his friends. He wrote “Hank Hansen” in as his name in his senior yearbook just to see if the school staff would notice, and when they didn’t he was immortalized as Hank Hansen his senior year. He also snuck into the yearbook photos that year with the football players as a joke because he wasn’t part of the team. Jess attended Snow College where he bunked with the football players, and although he was very, very smart he struggled with the idea of school. Freshman year in college he asked a professor if he thought that Jess could succeed and make $1,000,000 as a salesperson at that moment in his life. When the professor said yes, that he thought Jess was a natural salesman and would most definitely succeed as one, Jess quit school to focus on his sales career and never went back. After college Jess became interested in Amway, and the positive thinking and dreaming encouraged by the company provided a major turning point for his life. He started to really grow up and mature as a man and correct his lingering “bad” teenage behaviors. In August of 1984, Jess married DeAnna Bates, a dear friend from High School and in February of 1990 Jess and DeAnna welcomed their daughter Tazia. The birth of Tazia made Jess unbelievably happy! He had wanted a girl and he was an amazing father.

Jess met Cynthia Myers through colleagues at work where initially they were competitors who were not overly fond of each other. They were both after the same sales account which created a lot of competition. Cynthia remembers a work event where they attended as competitors, but where she was very attracted to his warmth, smile, and his exuberant, confident personality. A colleague wanted to set them up together and told Jess she'd make trouble for him at work if he didn't call her. Call her he did, and they would spend hours talking on the phone. July 18th, 1991 they had their first date, and December 7th, 1993 he married her, the love of his life, in Hawaii. They were sealed forever and eternity at the Manti Temple in Manti, Utah in March of 2001. They shared a very special marriage, one that was idolized by many around them. Jess and Cynthia were the real deal, their love was palpable, lasting, and strong enough to endure many hard times. In 1992 Jess and Cynthia moved to Denver, Colorado where they spent many years building a strong network of friends and where Jess Jr. (JD) and Marissa were both born. They did a wonderful job at blending two families, and Jess loved his wife very much and was very proud of his four children.

Jess started in the electronic sales industry as a counter salesman in 1983 with Kimball Electronics in Salt Lake City, and worked his way up to a long and illustrious career in sales with Arrow Electronics/Pemco in Salt Lake City and Denver, TTI in Denver, Colorado, and Deltron in Denver, Colorado. Jess and Cynthia returned to Salt Lake City in 2002 and ultimately chose Farmington, Utah as home. Jess finished his career with Crestone Group in Salt Lake City, an outstanding company that treated Jess like family and where he was very proud of the work they accomplished together. Jess truly enjoyed his work, and he felt very lucky to have made wonderful connections with his employers, colleagues, and customers over the years. Jess organized an industry golf tournament for many years that met in Salt Lake City with people coming from all over the country. He was “famous” for painstakingly arranging the tournament so that it was just competitive enough for everyone to love to participate. The family has been amazed by the outpouring of love and kindness from his industry community.

Jess loved calling Farmington home; the sense of community, the neighbors, serving popcorn to the children at Halloween, back-to-school BBQs and movies, having the mountains close, the bird refuge, the beautiful sunsets… Jess knew the name of every child in the ward and almost every adult in the neighborhood. He loved spending time here with his best friend Blue the dog. This was his home.

Jess was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served faithfully as a Boy Scout leader, Gospel Doctrine teacher, Sunday School president, and home teacher. Jess had deep rooted faith in the Gospel and a strong testimony. Jess loved to and was honored to serve; it was just as important to him to spend time physically cleaning the church as it was for him to serve as Elders Quorum president. Jess made many life long friendships in the church and was thankful for the fellowship the church community provided. One of the family’s favorite accomplishments was his time as a Venture Scout leader in Colorado. He led a group of young men to hike numerous fourteeners over the course of his calling, and he shared his love of Lake Powell and swimming with the boys on an unheard of trip that won him Scout Master of the Year in his first year as a Venture Scout leader.

The last few years of Jess’s life were filled with many wonderful memories. The family took Marissa to Disneyland, Jess and Cynthia made it back to Hawaii where they were married, he walked Tazia down the aisle at her wedding, Jess conducted the ceremony to marry his son Ryan Emerson and wife Lindsay in Park City and joined close family friends Kylee Irvine and Kyle Williams in marriage in Arizona, he went to the Super Bowl in San Francisco and saw his team (The Broncos) win, he drove race cars in a mountain canyon, went skiing and mountain biking with his coworkers, was able to have conversations with his treasured daughter Marissa with her TOBII computer, connected in a powerful way with Jess Jr. (JD) and saw him grow into a caring man who will carry on the Hansen legacy and care for the people Jess leaves behind, saw the birth of two grandsons, and shared many other intimate moments with the people he was loved so strongly by.

Jess was a husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, mentor, pillar of community, man of God, and so many things to so many people. Although Jess’s life was cut far too short, he leaves behind a powerful legacy full of extraordinary stories from countless people who talk about the lasting impact he left on their lives. Jess was loved by all who met him, and will be missed by many and remembered forever. There are not enough words in the world or books in a library to hold the story of the man that was Jess Hansen. He was truly a special soul and he imprinted on many people who will spend their lives striving to be better because of the example he set. The world was a better place because he was in it and Heaven shines brighter with his light. Rest well Jess, we know you are at peace with your Heavenly Father and we will see you again soon.

Please join the family in celebrating the life and legacy of Jess Hansen Friday, August 12th with a viewing from 5:00-7:00 pm at Russon Brothers Mortuary in Farmington, located at 1941 North Main Street, Farmington, Utah 84025. Jess’s memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 13th at 12:00 Noon at the LDS Chapel located at 14 Bonanza Road, Farmington, Utah 84025. There will be a viewing before the service on Saturday from 10:30-11:30 am. Interment- Farmington City Cemetery.