Bernice Montoya Meyer

Bernice Montoya Meyer (Abuela)

Bernice “Neecy” Montoya Meyer, our irreplaceable family matriarch, passed away peacefully at home on December 24 surrounded by her adoring family, following a valiant battle with cancer. 

She was born in Questa, New Mexico to Pete and Tilly Montoya. Bernice’s tales of her simple life in Questa helped connect the family to the sacrifices previous generations endured to help deliver the comfort we enjoy today. The family relocated to Utah when Pete found work at the Lark Mine. She graduated from Bingham High School in 1963. She married David Meyer on May 20, 1973.

Bernice worked for 20 years at National Semiconductor, but her true passion was cooking. Her culinary skills were unmatched. Her award-winning chile verde graced the family table on so many of our Sunday dinners, and it was the element that brought everything and everyone together for the family’s annual “Tamale Day.” Bernice rallied fearlessly to make it to one last Tamale Day this year, and we were truly blessed she could be there to see everyone enjoying the tradition she kept alive for so many years. 

Bernice was the glue that kept the family together. Through her, everyone knew about the comings and goings of family far and wide, from New Mexico to Utah and Colorado and beyond. Everyone felt uniquely loved and, most importantly, listened to by Bernice. She was somehow able to remember the names of every family member, friend, and all connections and events that bound us all together. She truly had a beautiful mind and a beautiful way of making everyone feel heard, loved, and important. To say she will be missed is to vastly understate her central role in all our lives: we are lost.

We will try to summon some of Bernice’s prodigious strength and stoicism to continue on. We promise to keep the traditions alive that she strived so hard to continue, and to work to keep family far and wide close, because that is what matters. 

Bernice is survived by her husband of 51 years, David, daughter Kristy (Aaron), son Gary (Dianne), stepson Todd (Sheree), brother Robert, sisters Lorraine (Larry) and Ruth (Jim), granddaughter Britton (Austin), grandson Dillon (Blaire), many nieces and nephews who were so kind and loving before and during her illness, and many great-grandchildren, who affectionately called her “Abuela.” More are on the way, and we will tell them everything about their special Abuela. 

She is preceded in death by brothers Jimmy, Paul, and Gabriel, along with her mother and father. 

Funeral services will be held on Thursday January 16, 2025 at Memorial Redwood Mortuary & Cemetery 6500 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, Utah 84123 with a visitation beginning at 10:00 am