Steven Gilbert Worthen

Steven Gilbert Worthen passed away on December 8th, 2023. Steven was born on July 29th, 1963 in Vernal, Utah, the third child of Ellis C. and Olga G. Worthen. After the years in Vernal, his father took a new teaching position and moved the family to Orem, Utah and, not long after that, to Havre, Montana. Steven experienced very harsh and cold winters but loved the fun times he had there. In 1970 he moved with his family, which now also included a younger brother and sister, to Western Samoa. Samoa was as different from Havre as it could possibly be. It seemed that almost overnight he went from trick-or-treating in sub-zero temperatures and downhill sled riding in the freezing snow to cliff jumping and swimming at Piula Cave Pool, rock sliding at Papase'ea Sliding Rock, playing on beautiful beaches, and enjoying the warm ocean waters of the South Pacific. He lived in that tropical paradise for three years, having some of the most wonderful times of his life. With all of the fun activities taking place in the community, making new friends and taking family excursions throughout the island, he somehow even managed to attend school. When the family, which now included their sixth child, returned to the United States in 1973 they enjoyed the summer in Price, Utah. Steven spent many days at the community pool with his brothers and on occasion spent the evening walking down to the movie theater with his father and brothers to watch a movie and then walking back home under the stars.

When it was time for the new school year to begin, the family moved to Salt Lake City and Steven entered the fifth grade at Upland Terrace Elementary School. He attended Wasatch Junior High, played in the school band, and even held the school pull-up record. When Steven went to Skyline High School he played baritone in the bands and had great times going on the yearly band trips. After graduating in 1981, Steven attended the University of Utah and was in the marching band. He enjoyed playing at the various university games, but on one occasion his playing left something to be desired. His brother Doug was also in the band and at one of the rehearsals Doug heard a terrible noise amidst the other instruments. Looking around he spotted Steven not playing his baritone but instead “singing” the notes as loudly as he possibly could. (The cause of this was never fully explained.)

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints working to achieve his Eagle Scout Award, Steven acquired skills and talents that would help in the many different jobs he had over the years. These jobs included delivering phone books, working at Sugar House Park as an assistant groundskeeper, working as a chemical technician and even as a cook at a Greek restaurant. He enjoyed all of these jobs and made many friends but the jobs were not quite what he was looking for. It was time to establish a career. He began by attending evening classes to learn more about computers and programming. This led him to types of jobs in the IT industry. He began as a warehouse manager for Valcom, a computer company in Salt Lake City, and worked up to being a Technician, a Systems Administrator and finally the IT Manager. Steven moved to a new company, Ingenix, as a Senior Computer Operations Analyst. He enjoyed the team there very much and was especially delighted to get to work with his brother Jody. After Ingenix, he began a many years association with UMIA as a Computer Administrator and Manager. The position at UMIA was eliminated in 2021 so Steven weighed his options and decided to retire.

Steven always enjoyed getting together for family events. He could often be found playing with his young nieces and nephews in the yard, park or playground where, on one occasion, he even broke his leg. Steven loved going camping and enjoyed taking trips to places such as Yellowstone, Hawaii, Florida, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and Disneyland. These camping trips and vacations were among his most cherished memories because they always included members of his family. While Steven lived a private life, he always enjoyed meeting with people and especially enjoyed what had become a Christmas season tradition of getting tickets to see the Tran Siberian Orchestra and taking family members to the show. He was kind, soft-hearted and generous with his time, talents and abilities and would do anything for his family. He even took time off to help family members move across the country, driving the moving trucks and doing anything else that was needed. Steven always liked working on various building projects but the most important one, and the one he enjoyed the most, was building his relationship with his family.

Steven is survived by his mother, Olga, his siblings Douglas (Shannon), Joseph (Kathy), Roger, Brenda (Bruce) and Paul (Andrea), as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Ellis.

A brief viewing will be held on Saturday, December 23rd from 11:00 to 11:45 AM at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary (3401 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City). Following the viewing, Steven will be laid to rest at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park (Whispering Pines). A memorial service honoring Steven’s life will be held at a later date.