Julie Ann Worley Curtis

Beloved friend, daughter, sister, aunt, mother, and grandmother, Julie Ann Worley Curtis, passed away January 28, 2024, in Bountiful, Utah from complications following a car accident in December.

Born in San Jose, California on January 7, 1952, to Edward Wayman and Lucille Gray Worley, Julie grew up in Lehi, Utah where she developed friendships that she cherished her entire life. Julie graduated from Lehi High School in 1970 and went on to earn a degree in education from Utah State University in 1974. She later earned a master’s degree in business from Westminster College in 1999.

In 1986, she and her then-husband, Keith Curtis, were blessed with a son, Michael Edward, and laid claim to two more in Wesley Matern and Jordan Stoneman. She spent much of her life somewhere between entertained and exasperated with Mike, but she never stopped smiling and was incredibly proud. Her favorite thing Mike ever did was to find and marry Sarah Stelnicki, bringing into her life a daughter-in-law who was secretly her favorite, four beautiful grandchildren, and many Canadian family members.

Julie spent her career in public and higher education, always striving to help others learn and grow. She began her teaching career at Green River High School in Green River, Utah, followed by a long career with Salt Lake Community College, both teaching at the Skills Center and later in administration. She developed friendships at SLCC that she treasured, especially after her retirement in 2009.

Her dining table was a laboratory of dedication and public service as she spent many late nights, sometimes with the help of an unofficial teaching assistant son, grading assignment after assignment with a seemingly never-ending stream of 10-key paper tape. The dining table would later be repurposed for late-night study sessions when she went back for her master’s degree.

Julie was a consummate caretaker, caring for her then-husband through decades of decline with multiple sclerosis. After a divorce, Julie’s brother, Scott Worley, provided a home where she would live and serve her mother Lucille for seven sweet years. Being able to help care for her mother was her greatest honor. She served in many Relief Society and Primary presidencies, among other capacities, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She rarely, if ever, complained about the hardships in her life, and she smiled through everything.

Julie loved to read, and her nose served as a book mark several times a week as she’d fall asleep reading at night. She also loved traveling the world, visiting Hawai’i regularly, England, Sweden, and a special trip to see Mike’s mission in Belgium and France. But no matter where she went, she had a small library of books, and the world served as an ever-changing reading nook .

Julie had two favorite pastimes: socializing with friends (or reporting to family the latest from Facebook) and cheering on her grandkids at countless basketball games, volleyball games, soccer games, tee-ball games, cross country meets, dance performances, tumbling shows, musicals and plays, and especially piano recitals. Whatever time she saved by raising an only child was more than balanced out by all these  competing activities.

Julie loved being an aunt and was a great aunt in multiple senses of the word. She had a special bond with her nieces, Tammy Johnson and Kristen Christiansen, and adored their children and spouses.

Julie is survived by her son, Michael (Sarah), North Salt Lake; brother Scott, South Jordan;  grandchildren Kinley (13), Brooklyn (10), Piper (9), and Stratton (5). She is preceded in death by her father in 1983 and mother in 2022; brother Ken Worley; Mike’s father; and three shih tzus.        

Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 3 at 11 a.m. at the Foxboro 1st Ward Chapel, 875 West Foxboro Drive in North Salt Lake. Friends may call at viewings on Friday, February 2, from 6-8 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main Street in Bountiful, and from 9:45-10:45 a.m. before the funeral services at the church. Services will be streamed live on Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and this obituary page.

Julie will be buried in the Centerville City Cemetery following the service.