Kevin James Davies

Kevin James Davies–smitten husband, endlessly fun Dad, devoted, son, brother and brother-in-law, brilliant programmer, avid biker, skier, rafter, slot canyoner, backpacker, youth high adventure advocate, mountain bike team coach, card trick enthusiast, Halloween prankster, family board and card game lover, headstand cheese eating champion, devoted disciple, curious learner, avid reader, wise counselor, and family hero–left this mortal experience on October 24th, 2024, after an unexpected and tragic stroke.  

Kevin began his grand mortal adventure on August 21, 1977, in Waimea, Kaua’i, Hawaii. Born to Vernon and Beth Davies, the 6th of seven children, he was kind, curious, and smart.  

His family moved to American Fork when Kevin was a toddler. Even as a child, his curiosity was huge. He read the entire encyclopedia, and later he would amaze his wife with all he remembered. He would write Basic A computer programs on his family's ancient IBM pc home computer, create inventions to allow him to bike faster, and spend endless hours playing Legos with his brother Brandon. His bond with his siblings deepened with the tragic passing of his father when he was 17 years old.  

In junior high, he discovered he had a great aptitude for running. He later joined the American Fork High Cavemen cross country team and enjoyed designing and executing weekly training schedules. He walked onto the SUU cross country team and made lifelong friends. 

He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Padova, Italy. There he gained a great love for the Italian people and culture. He also learned to make a mean lasagna bolognese and was adamant that Olive Garden is not Italian food. He continued in his devotion to his Father in Heaven and diligently served as Elder’s Quorum President, Primary Teacher, 11-year-old scout leader, Scout Master, Elders quorum teacher, and a devoted ministering brother.  

Upon his return, he joined his brothers at the University of Utah and started his education in Linguistics and Computer Science. On a Singles Ward trip to Zion National Park, while hiking Angels Landing, he met a talkative and happy redhead. He was impressed that she would hike Angels Landing and the Narrows in one day. The next Sunday, when she spoke in church and shared experiences from a recent rafting trip, he was done for. She was the girl for him. They were married and sealed in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on September 28, 2001. KeCo productions/adventures was born.  

Kevin graduated with a degree in Linguistics and Computer Science from the University of Utah. He was a gifted programmer and progressed in his career to become a Software Engineering Leader and a VR/XR/Spatial Computing Aficionado. He landed his dream job in creating virtual reality experiences and had great joy taking his friends and family through VR experiences.  

Kevin and Connie decided two adventurers were not enough. The first little adventurer to join the family was Samuel Blake, followed by Grace GeNeal, Jonah Sparks, and finally Charlotte Beth. Kevin and Connie piled these intrepid explorers into their minivan and took them to places no minivan dared to go before. They canyoneered Ding and Dang, Pinecreek, Spooky, Peekaboo, Hole in the Rock, Orderville Canyon, Sulfur Creek, Escalante, Grand Gulch, and the Subway. Kevin was the ropes man, harnessing everyone in and belaying them down. They canoed the Black Canyon, the Buffalo River, and the Yukon River. They rafted the Snake River, the Green River, the Colorado River, the Weber River, and the Sevier River. They backpacked The Wind Rivers, Yosemite, and the West Coast trail with Christine and Jeffery Hoyle, where Kevin valiantly fought off the bears! They mountain biked Park City, the Wasatch front, and Colorado. They hiked Mt. Rainier, Mt. Olympus, Mt. Timpanogos, Ben Lomond Peak, Willard Peak, King’s Peak, the Devil’s Traverse, and nearly every hike in between. They explored Alaska, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mexico, Italy, Canada, and a huge portion of the lower 48 states. And they spent countless weekends in their beloved Moab, Utah, doing every adventure they could find. Because 6 adventurers is not enough, they often collaborated with the amazing Delfin family. Together, they laughingly called themselves the D team. 

In all of his adventures and passions, nothing is more important to Kevin than his family. Kevin Davies loves his family. He is a devoted son and brother organizing weekly zoom calls so his family could stay connected. He is a wise father who was always available to talk, give a hug, help with any project, use his programming talents to win school elections, or initiate a night of family board games. He led the way by example and encouraged his wife and kids to go for every positive opportunity. And he is a loyal, patient, caring, generous, faithful, giving, understanding, and tender-hearted husband. He is forever Connie’s champion, hero, and best friend.  

Kevin is survived by his beloved wife Connie (Sparks) Davies; his four children Sam, Grace, Jonah and Charlie; his mother Beth Davies; his six siblings Shanon (Todd) Kreuger, Sean (Anne Marie) Davies, Ryon (Thelma) Davies, Tad (Rebecca) Davies, Brandon (Angela) Davies, and Rebecca (Rich) Shelton. He will also be deeply missed by his in-laws, Christine (Jeffrey aka Jefe Guapo) Hoyle, Robert (Barbara) Sparks, Randy (Lindi) Sparks, Rick (Cami) Sparks, Richard (Sheryl) Sparks, and his inseparable family by choice, the Lehi and Jamie Delfin family, and a host of in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.  

He was preceded in death by his loving father Vernon Davies, and his grandmother Jean Westwood. The family rejoices to think of the reunion between Kevin and his beloved adventure-loving Grandpa Richard Westwood and the reunion between Kevin and his mother-in-law, GeNeal Sparks. She will hug Kevin especially long for being an incredible husband to her daughter and an amazing father to her grandchildren.  

The family wishes to offer their deepest gratitude to the Neurology and ICU departments at St. Mark’s hospital. Their superior knowledge, skill, and compassion extended Kevin’s life, giving his family tender moments with their dad before his passing. Kevin and Connie could not have received better or more compassionate care. 

Our gratitude extends to the Viewmont Mountain bike team for their immediate support and for setting up the GoFundMe. We thank all those who contributed to this fund and to those who offered generous financial support by other means.  

And lastly, we wish to thank our amazing family, our incredible friends, and all the members of the Parrish Heights Ward and Centerville Utah Stake. There are not enough thank you cards for us to offer our appreciation for all the service rendered.  

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, at the Parrish Heights Ward Building, 610 North Rowland Way (100 East), Centerville, Utah 84014. A viewing will be held Friday evening from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, Utah 84010 and Saturday morning from 9:30-10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services. Graveside services will be held at the Centerville Cemetery.  

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page. The live stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the service and will be posted below. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Davies Zelle or Venmo account to support the future education and life endeavors of the Davies children. 

• Zelle : Connie Davies 801-529-8459
• Venmo: @Connie-Davies