Richard Brent Weber, Jr. Obituary (1969

Richard Brent Weber, Jr was born in Bountiful, Utah, on November 7, 1969. After almost forty-seven years of learning, growing, and loving, his life ended unexpectedly on October 19, 2016. A beloved husband, dad, brother, son, nephew, cousin, colleague, and friend, he will be sorely missed. Richard Weber was a man of integrity and kindness, curiosity and passion. We feel so blessed to have known and loved him. Richard spent his earliest years in Kaysville, Utah. He loved visiting his Grandma and Grandpa Bennett and Grandma and Grandpa Weber in Evanston, WY. When he was 4, a farm outside Forsyth, MO, became his new home. When the dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, and cows were insufficiently entertaining, Richard and his older sisters would find friends to come play kick the can or tag with them. Richard and Brenda took piano lessons from Miss Cole for a while. In junior high, Richard played on the basketball team and in the band. Richard was heavily involved in scouting while living in Wyoming with his dad. At Forsyth High School, Richard distinguished himself as a cheerleader, member of the Pops show choir, and as one of the leads in the musical “Oklahoma.” Everyone loved his beautiful singing voice! His sister, Juanita--who also sings beautifully--was a fellow lead in that production. When the director expected Richard to kiss Nita in one of the scenes, they were both mortified but persevered and faked it. Richard had so many high school friends and looked back with fondness on his memories of them. He graduated high school in 1988. Having attended early-morning religious education classes, Richard received a Graduation Diploma in LDS Seminary, as well. Richard drove to Provo, Utah, in 1989 to be near his sisters, who had married and settled there. He found employment at the McDonald’s on 1230 North and soon became friends with co-workers Kurt Fitzgerald and Ron Hendrix. (He would later ask them to be the best men at his wedding.) In the fall of 1989, while living at Westwood Apartments in Provo, Richard met another occupant of the complex: a pretty red-head named Kirsten Boyer, from Springville. They dated, fell in love, and were married on June 30, 1990, in the Springville Museum of Art. A year later, on July 6, 1991, they were sealed to one another in the Provo LDS Temple. Their daughter, Rebecca, was born in April 1992. Their son, Spencer, arrived three years later--in March 1995. Richard’s first career was as a Sears service technician. It was a great fit as Richard was so handy with tools, professional in demeanor, and clever at problem-solving. When Richard’s job took them to the Salt Lake Valley, Kirsten managed the apartment complexes where they lived in order to be home with their young children. In addition to working, Richard took night classes, completing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Columbia College in 1996. A man of varied interests, Richard took extra science courses and then interned with a wonderful dentist in the valley for 6 months. When Kirsten’s brother, Brent, moved back to Utah with his two young daughters in 1998, Richard and Kirsten generously opened their home to them. It was a tight fit but a special opportunity to grow close as family. After Brent was able to move into his own home, Richard--tired of Salt Lake traffic and nostalgic of the country life of his youth--applied for a position with Sears in rural central Utah. When he was offered the job, the family moved to Richfield (in Sevier County), where they lived from 2000 to 2016. Not long after they moved there, Richard decided to study and train to become an EMT. This was born of his desire to both contribute to his community and feel a sense of belonging. It worked. Richfield grew on him, and he grew on Richfield. After becoming a member of the ambulance crew, Richard trained to become a volunteer firefighter, too. That meant that he was busy every Fourth of July--whether with the parade or the evening fireworks. It was Richard’s impetus that put into motion the restoration of Richfield’s historic fire truck. Thanks to the support of the department and the time and talents of many individuals, it was accomplished. Seeing the functioning truck either on the road or on display in the picture window of the station filled Richard with pride and joy. Kirsten, too, found her place in the community--following Richard’s steps to become an EMT, as well as working at Richfield High School. In time, Richard was ready to switch careers--leaving Sears to take a position as service manager, then parts manager, at Jorgensen Ford. Richard was appointed as a committee member for the Board of Adjustments for Richfield soon thereafter. When he later heard that the Richfield Police Department would be needing to hire a new officer, his interest was piqued and he talked to the mayor about recommending him. Richard Weber, by now a beloved member of the community, was sent to police academy in South Jordan, sponsored by Richfield City. Richard served as a Richfield City Police Officer from 2008 to 2014, where he gained lifelong friends. After going through the Utah Department of Corrections’ intense training academy, Richard began working as a correctional officer at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, where he remained from 2014 to early 2016. When he wasn’t working, Richard enjoyed playing mandolin, banjo, and guitar (especially with his Uncle Larry and with his fellow band members of Cherokee Blonde, Paul, Kate, and Sarah); cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for the extended family at the Richfield Fire Station; playing board games with Kirsten and the kids; hanging out with his friend, Corwin Ogden; singing with the Aspen Heart Choir; riding his ATV with his family or friends on the Paiute Trails around Richfield; singing duets with Kirsten at home or for community organizations; taking care of his home; tying flies; ice fishing; trying out new brewing recipes; or helping his friends and sisters with household projects and appliance repairs. Richard admired, loved, and enjoyed his wife, Kirsten, and was her partner in every sense of the word. He adored her, helped her, sang to her, loved her, worked hard to support her, kept things in working order for her, and strove to be a man she could always be proud of. Rebecca and Spencer were blessed to have Richard as their dad. He loved them! This was evidenced by how much he enjoyed them, played with them, counseled them, worried about them, believed in them--and showed them how much he cared. When Spencer proposed an amendment to the off highway vehicles ordinance--as part of his Eagle Project--to the Richfield City Council in January 2013, Richard was there in attendance. And on a beautiful afternoon in August 2015, Richard walked his precious daughter Rebecca down the aisle--tears of joy escaping his eyes. Richard had planned to make heirloom gifts for his kids so that they’d have something special from him that he’d made himself. For Rebecca, he was starting to collect the tools to build her a guitar from scratch. For Spencer, he’d make a custom violin. And for his son-in-law, Scott, he planned to build an electric guitar. Richard and Kirsten had their own plans, too. Knowing that Rebecca and Spencer were settling in as adults in Utah County, the two had discussed a potential move north, to be closer to their children as well as several of their siblings and aging parents. Richard applied for and received a position as an Adult Probation and Parole Agent for the Department of Corrections in Salt Lake County, a position that he felt honored to hold. Kirsten, who’d returned to college and become an RN, worked to finish her Bachelor’s degree and to tackle packing up their belongings prior to the sale of their home. Once Richard began his new job in February of this year, he spent the next 5 months staying with his sister, Brenda, in Orem during the week and driving to Richfield to be with Kirsten on the weekends. Once they had accepted an offer on their home, Kirsten looked for a job and they searched for a residence in Utah County. The Utah County Health Department hired Kirsten to be a nurse in their Nurse-Family Partnership program, which was very exciting, and the two soon found a lovely home in Springville they both liked. The closing took place on their anniversary date: June 30th. While friends and colleagues in Richfield and Gunnison missed associating with Richard once he’d moved, they were nonetheless very proud of him for receiving the prestigious position of Adult Probation and Parole Agent. Richard was pleased, himself, to have gotten the job but was intimidated by the learning curve at first. Then there was the workload. Despite the endless nature of his work, however, Richard was determined not to bring it home with him. At home, he would unwind by cooking (he loved making sushi!), practicing new songs over and over on his guitar, cuddling with his wife and their little dogs on the couch, or taking a ride in his new Polaris RZR on a nearby mountain trail. He even bought the supplies necessary to do gold panning. There was always something new and fascinating for Richard to learn. It was a shock to everyone when Richard passed from this life on October 19, 2016. We weren’t ready to have him gone but rest in the knowledge that he will always be with us. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at the Springville 9th Ward Chapel, 878 West Center Street, Springville, Utah. Friends and family are invited to attend a visitation on Tuesday, October 25th, at Berg Mortuary (185 E. Center Street in Provo) from 6 to 8 pm. and at the church Wednesday, from 9:30 to 10:45 am prior to the services. Richard is survived by his wife, Kirsten Boyer Weber; children, Rebecca Weber (Scott Krogh) and Spencer Brent Weber; parents, Richard Brent Weber (Irene) and Melissa Dawn Bennett Bentley; siblings, Brenda Francis, Juanita Hooker, Jeremy Weber, Joshua Weber (Lynn), Mary Hildreth (Matt), Melanie Archibeque Clark (Josh), Emily Zuta (Antonio), Jacob Archibeque (Heather), Erin Perry (Nate), Jesse Archibeque, Megan Marshall (Jason), and Esther Shafe (Dwaine). Richard was preceded in death by his grandparents; stepfather, Clemont Bentley; brother-in-law, Keith Hooker; and nephew, Logan Miller. Richfield’s Fire Department will be bringing the historic fire truck called the “Le France” to Springville in time for Richard’s funeral. As is the custom of the department, the call will go out to the firemen to come transport a compatriot to his final resting place. The interment will be at the Historic Springville Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.bergmortuary.com.