Kristeen St. John

Kristeen Jessop St. John passed away peacefully, her sons Caleb and Josh by her side, early Sunday morning, March 16, 2025, at IMC in Murray, Utah, under hospice care. She was 75 years old. She was born on November 29, 1949, to James B. Jessop and Thelma Boss Jessop in Salt Lake City, Utah. She graduated from Granite High School in 1968. Kris married Ronald E. St. John on February 14, 1970, but later divorced.

Little Kristeen was an energetic little girl with curly red hair and green eyes. She grew up in the home her dad built on Scott Avenue. She loved that house, her whole life. She was the oldest daughter. Her big brother Mark was six years older than her.

Siblings came along after—brother Matt and sisters Margaret, Marie, and Barbara. Marie stayed only two years before she died. Three baby boys died very soon after their births. Young Kris learned early that a pregnancy didn’t always result in a baby that lived.

An important aspect of young Kris’s family was her parents’ dedication to plural marriage. Her Dad, Jim Jessop, was married also to Nan Kunz Jessop. Nan and her children lived sometimes with Thelma and family on Scott Avenue, and sometimes in a separate apartment. Jim purchased a second home for Nan and their children when Kris was about fifteen years old.

Scott Avenue had a lot of kids in the neighborhood. But, somehow, Kris was in charge—even over the boys, even if they were older. She once organized a neighborhood program in the back yard. She put the boys to work assembling a stage and benches for spectators, and a snack bar.

Kris rode her bike a couple of miles once a week to the home of Barbara Kelsch for piano lessons. That neighborhood was a stronghold of relatives. She had lots of friends among her cousins, the Bosses and Kunzes and Matsons, and the Kelsch kids.

At home, Kris was way more interested in shadowing her dad’s outdoor projects than in helping Mom in the kitchen. Especially the automotive stuff. Jim Jessop was always working in somebody’s car.

Kris was all about cars. She knew the make and models, and she held strong opinions about those she favored and those she didn’t. And she loved to drive!

State Street, in the late 1960s, was the center of nightlife in Salt Lake City. That’s where the hot cars were and the hot guys too. Teenager Kris was an avid participant. She worked at JB’s Restaurant—a State Street standout—as a hostess. The guys and the cars were as much a part of JB’s as the burgers. She engaged in all of that—and stayed out of trouble . . . mostly.

Kris, age 20, married Ron St. John in 1970, on Valentine’s Day. By the following Christmas, she was the mom of a newborn baby girl—Kasey. Ron and Kris bought a new home in West Valley City in the mid-70s. They welcomed three more babies—Caleb, Joshua, and Brandi. Two baby boys were lost along the way. One was miscarried. One was stillborn at full term.

The St. John’s marriage unraveled, and divorce followed in 1986. Kris threw herself into the demands of being a single mother, a working mother. But the responsibility was huge. And how she disliked being the first and only one in the family to divorce.

Kris struggled. She had to work to meet her financial obligations, to provide her kids with a home. But she couldn’t be home with them the way she wanted. She had to work. Her kids had to mostly muddle along without her. It was too much. Her boys were in trouble. Her girls needed stability.

Kris was drained, angry, lonely. She felt like a failure. Worse, she felt like God didn’t care about her. So she didn’t care about Him. For a long time.

But Kris herself had grown up with a foundation and an example of gospel truths. In her childhood, family prayer was a daily practice. Her Dad, through devotion to the principle of plural marriage, honorably maintained two homes and his marriage to two women and cared for all of his children. He read the scriptures with his families. He taught his children the importance of agency and responsibility. He prayed aloud, humbly in the name of Jesus Christ.

In desperation over the needs of her children, Kris began to turn again, little by little, to prayer. She began to see the hand of the Lord again—the love of the Lord again—in her life.

Throughout the turmoil of her life, Kris maintained her home in West Valley City for as long as she was able. But after twenty-plus years, she finally had to let it go. She moved back to her childhood home on Scott Avenue, back again with her Dad and Mom. She felt like maybe she could stay long enough to get herself back on her feet and move on.

But Scott Avenue wasn’t the same as it was in the Sixties—Thelma was in the grip of Alzheimer's. She needed supervision, and Jim needed help in caring for his wife. “When Dad asked me to stay,” Kris remembered, “I saw all my plans fly away.” But she said yes. She stayed on at Scott Avenue, working in the day and keeping her Mom company in the evenings, especially when Jim was at his home with Nan. Kris carried a great portion of the difficult care of her Mom.

Looking back, Kris prized the time she got to be again with her Dad, five years that she treasured. He passed in 2003, and her Mom passed in 2005. Kris cared for both of them to the best of her ability. She always praised Mother Nan for her strong support and assistance with Thelma. Kris loved her “Other Mother.”

Kris often felt that she fell short in life, as a mother, as a daughter, as a woman. But she excelled as a giver. She was always giving. Always looking for a way to give. Always finding a way to give.

She felt it was late in her life when she began to yearn for a deeper understanding of the sacred. Prayer grew more important in her life. Her love for Jesus Christ increased.

Kris was the founder of a Prayer Circle of some like-minded ladies. In 2010, she began with a couple of her sisters. She gathered her “Prayer Circle Sisters” at her home, prepared a meal to share, and opened a discussion about family members in need of prayers and the assistance of heaven. The meeting culminated in joining hands and praying aloud for the Lord’s blessings

The Prayer Circle continued to meet once a month. Membership increased little by little, until there were nine regular Prayer Circle Sisters. Kris kept a notebook of attendees and a list of people who needed prayers.

Somehow, word got around, and requests started to come in. The Prayer Circle accepted many prayer requests. Sometimes—many times—they prayed together for someone not known personally among them.

Many prayers were answered with success, healing, and help. Kris always said, “It isn’t us. We just pray. It’s the Lord. Jesus brings the blessings.” Kris maintained her Prayer Circle until 2024, when her health derailed her.

Kris’s health and stamina began to deteriorate during the onset of Covid. But it wasn’t Covid that brought her down. She had symptoms of congestive heart failure that required hospitalization for stents and a new valve in her heart. Even so, her poor circulation gave her relentless pain in her legs and feet.

Kris’s later years were spent living with various family members: her sister Barbara, her mother Nan, her sister Margaret, her daughter Brandi, her son Caleb. Her last weeks, she was cared for by Joleen Wayman, her best friend and sister-in-law, at Joleen’s home. Kris’s nieces and nephews demonstrated much love and devotion, coming day and night to offer their services to both Kris and Joleen.

She was a big personality. “Sassy” is a word chosen by many to describe her. Kris’s influence, her fiery, spitfire speech, and her irresistible humor will live long in our hearts.

Kris is survived by her children: Kasey St. John Hanson (Ben), Caleb St. John (Michelle), Joshua St. John, Brandi St. John Snyder (Damian) Her grandchildren: Benjamin Hanson, Ashton St. John, Paige St. John, Brody St. John, Brayd Atkinson, Ahlia Atkinson, Camden St. John, Asher St. John, Lorena Canedo, Lucas Snyder. Great-grandson, Dixxon St. John. And her siblings: Matt, Margaret, Barbara, Rachel, Dan, Esther, Rosie, Norma, Bob, Rich, Lew, Ryan, Glen, Lillian, Kathleen, and Ellie.

She is preceded in death by her parents: James B. Jessop, Thelma Jessop, and Nan Jessop. Her brother Mark Wayman, sister Marie Jessop, and infant brothers Craig, Arnold, and Michael.

A Viewing will be held on Sunday, March 23, 2025, from 6-8:00 p.m. at Memorial Murray Mortuary at 5850 South 900 East, Murray, Utah, 84121. There will also be a viewing on Monday, March 24, 2025, from 12:30-1:45 p.m. with a funeral service to follow from 2-3:00 p.m. at Memorial Redwood Mortuary & Cemetery, at 6500 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, Utah, 84123. With graveside to follow.