Short biography of Beth Wynn Hepworth (Jacobson) by her son

 Beth Wynn Jacobson

    My Mom, Beth Wynn Jacobson, was born on December 10, 1958 to David Bartee Jacobson and Nancy Thompson. She had one older sister named Blythe, who was also her “Irish twin.” Beth was the second child, and was followed by Joanna, Jill, Dathan, Danna, and Dayne. 

     She was a smart and quick worker. She graduated from high school 6 months early in California. She had a calico-colored quarter horse named Calico and loved to ride her in the rodeos doing pole bending and barrel racing. She once competed against her sister, Jill. Both of them rode Calico and tied for first place. As the contest was a draw they raced again, Calico running her 3rd and 4th race, but they tied again. They competed a 3rd time (Calico’s 5th and 6th races), but they tied again! They stopped there and just called it a draw. She kept Calico until Calico was put to sleep as she was, I believe, 35 years or so old at that point. Beth held Calico in her arms and wept as she was put to sleep, as she truly did love her horse. 

     Her father, David Bartee Jacobson, passed away in 1985. She would go visit his grave at Lake Hills Memorial Cemetary in Sandy, Utah often. There was a pond there with many polywogs and tadpoles that her boys and their friends loved to catch and bring home and grow into frogs.

     Beth was married two times. The first time to George Stott. She had two sons with George, Larry and Luke. She was only married for a few years to George when they divorced. 

     She then moved to Page, Arizona with her sister, Jill. They stayed in a small motel called the Red Rock Motel. She was hanging out with her sister Jill and a man she was dating, Dennis. Jill and Dennis were later married. Well, as they were hanging out, in walked one of Dennis’s friends, John. John stated he was “all corned up” and he and Dennis proceeded to have an arm-wrestling match with the two sisters as an audience. John, being a cowboy and used to working on the ranch, won the contest, and Beth became attracted to this handsome, strong fellow. She and John spent a lot of time together, and it was when John was gone hunting that she realized that she missed him and therefore further realized that she loved him. She and John Dean Hepworth were married on November 10, 1984. They had two sons, Squire and Trace. She always wanted a daughter and would have named her third son (Squire) Heidi had he been a girl. 

     John, Beth, Larry, Luke, Squire, and Trace moved to Heber, Utah in 1989 or close to that. They stayed there for about a year before moving again, this time to Riverton, Utah. They lived there for about 15 years together at a home on 1630 West. John was a mechanic and Beth was a waitress. She loved to have a good time, be silly, and help others have fun too. She would often give buzz cuts to her boys. Once she cut just the top of Trace’s hair so he was buzzed on top and long on the sides, and he looked like a little old man. Another time, she cut one of her son’s friend’s (Levi) hair with an “L” in the back of his head. Levi didn’t know about it until he went to school the next day. And yet another time, when Squire had let his hair grow long out of wanting to be like his older brother Luke and just out of inertia, she took matters into her own hands. Squire, who had naturally curly wavy hair was not one to keep his hair nice and combed like his older brother, Luke, or to really comb it very much at all. So Beth was cutting Squire’s hair, which he wanted buzzed on the sides and left long on the top with his red hair all the way down to his chin on top. She said she would take just a little off the top, to which Squire reluctantly agreed. She kept saying she would take “just a little more off the top,” until Squire had a fully shaved head. He was very angry with his Mom for several days, but in the end was grateful to his Mother for getting rid of his long untamed hair.

     One time, Beth and John were having a disagreement over several days. To get back at John, Beth took John’s well-loved (and probably favorite belonging in the whole world) cowboy hat that he had had for many years, and she hid it from him. Unfortunately, she hid it in the oven, and forgot that she had put it there. She began making dinner and was only pre-heating the oven, and to everyone’s surprise smoke began to fill the kitchen. The oven was opened to see what was burning. As the oven door opened, I can remember the smell of the smoke, not like some charred food, but more like burnt sweat and leather. As she pulled the burnt, crispy hat out of the oven, she and the rest of the family saw it as it came from the billowing smoke and a few pieces of the crispy hat broke off. Everyone gasped, as they knew how mad Dad would be when he found out his cowboy hat had been burnt to a crisp. I remember her telling him sorry, and I was surprised at how he wasn’t nearly as upset as everyone thought he would be.  

     John and Beth separated in 2003 or 2004 (just for clarification, they did not separate because of or shortly after the hat was burnt). John went back to Page with Trace, and Beth and Squire stayed in Riverton. Beth and Squire moved to a small apartment literally just down the same street as their old home. Squire would love to wear the “Stone Cold” Steve Austin mask (that Beth probably wishes she had never purchased) and pop around the corner with it on and scare the heck out of her, or just sit on the couch and wait for her to get home from work and nearly give her a heart attack when she saw a strange dude just chillin on her couch. Her screaming never got old as she always fell for it. Squire went on a mission through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Maryland and West Virginia. So, Beth was left alone in the little apartment, and later moved in with her mom in Layton, Utah. Beth was Squire’s biggest supporter and would often write letters to him while he was gone for two years.

     When Squire returned home from Maryland and West Virginia, Beth was living with her mother Nancy and her husband, Vern. They had at that time moved to South Jordan, Utah, in a community called Daybreak. Shortly after Squire returned home, John and Beth got back together, and Beth moved with John to Page. They were happy to be together again. Beth helped to give John’s home a feminine touch, and she always welcomed her children when they came to visit. She loved her grandchildren so very much. Luke had three children with his first wife, Amber. Their names are Ty, Micah, and Riley. She loved to see them, and beamed whenever she could be around them and hold them.  Luke's second wife Angela gave birth to two son's with him, Dean and Sebastian, and also he had a step son, Damien.  And although Beth was never able to meet them on this Earth, she would have loved to have held them.  Since she has passed, her oldest son Larry has had two sons, Gage and Liam, and a step daughter, Cherish, with his wife Rhonda. Her youngest son Trace has had one daughter, Purcaius, with his significant other Deerae.

     Squire met Jami in 2007, and a few months later took her down to meet his family. Just before he was taking Jami to his Grandpa Charlie's ranch, where he would propose to her in a boat in the small lake, he let Beth in on the secret that he was going to propose to Jami and she giggled (he told at her at the last second when Jami was in the car because she probably would have accidentally let the surprise slip!) She was so excited when Jami was pregnant for the first time, and was very comforting to Jami and Squire when their first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. She again was thrilled when Jami and Squire told her that they were pregnant again, but unfortunately, she passed away before Squire and Jami had their first-born son, Lincoln.

      Beth loved animals and had many in her life. She had Calico, as was mentioned earlier. She had sheep when she was younger in California. When in Riverton, she had chickens and ducks who produced so many eggs, she was constantly giving the eggs to neighbors and friends. She also hatched many chicks with an incubator. She had a llama as well. She had a goat that she kept at a friend’s home, and she was overjoyed when the goat had two adorable baby goats that she loved to hold. She had a pig named Jimmy Dean, that the city said could not be kept in their suburban neighborhood. Jimmy Dean was kept at the same friend’s (the Vasquez’s) home. Beth would bring Jimmy Dean left over food from her job in the restaurant. Jimmy Dean sadly did meet his end, as many pigs do, and as his name would imply, the family, although saddened that he had to die, they did enjoy the sausage and other meat he provided. She had several dogs, one of whom was named Barney, a large Saint Bernard with one hind leg longer than the other, who always had a difficult time walking, but who was always very sweet-hearted. She had Guinea pigs that were constantly reproducing and she was constantly giving to neighbors, friends, and family members. She had a few cats as well. She probably had other animals as well, but that is all I can recall at this time. She also loved to garden, especially tomatoes. These too, she would constantly be giving away to friends and family.

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     She usually went to work shortly after her kids got home from school and worked until late at night. She was therefore not usually home for dinner. Squire did love when she would cook biscuits and sausage gravy, which she was expert at. This is still Squire’s favorite breakfast meal, and now is his children’s favorite meal. She also made delicious French toast with lots of butter and powdered sugar on top. When Squire would visit his Mom at her work, T.G.I. Friday’s, she would usually provide for him a peppermint malt which he loved. She would make a mighty fine Thanksgiving dinner every year with an excellent turkey, delicious mashed red potatoes, yams with marshmallows, canned cranberry sauce, fruit salad with whipped cream, homemade pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, and other delicious sides and sweets. Thanksgiving is one of Squire’s favorite memories with his family. She also always made Christmas special, and although the family certainly was far from being rich, she and John were somehow able to get some special gifts for their four boys.

     Beth enjoyed sewing and was a talented seamstress. She would sew clothes for her boys, and also made some cool capes for them and their friends to play with.

     One of her many hobbies was to go shopping at thrift stores and buy treasures she would find. She enjoyed going to Deseret Industries and Thrift Town when she lived in Riverton, and later when she lived in Page, she would frequently go to the Bargain Center, where she was a well-known figure. Sadly, she passed away at the relatively young age of 51 years old of heart failure in her home in Page, Arizona. -Written by her son, Squire Dean Hepworth on November 29, 2020 and updated May 8, 2022.