Our much-loved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Jan Thurgood Squire, age 76, passed away Sunday, August 23, 2026 in Provo, Utah. She was born in Provo, Utah, to Jack and LaGean Thurgood on September 28, 1949, and has resided in Orem, UT for the last 54 years.

Jan attended Orem High School. She was a ferocious member of the tennis team, a student body officer, the Homecoming Queen, and most of all, kind to those around her. She went on to attend Brigham Young University where she dated and married her sweetheart Joe Squire. They were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on February 6th, 1970. She moved to San Diego one semester short of graduating from BYU. She would later return to BYU once her kids were raised to finish her degree. By that time, her one semester short had turned into well over 40 credit hours required to graduate. She completed those credits side by side with younger students and made many friends along the way. She was brilliant and would get all A’s and one A- for those necessary credit hours. Along this adventure, she was the recipient of a raucous standing ovation from the testing center employees when she got 100% on a very challenging biology final. She was a remarkably hard worker and knew how to achieve goals. She graduated alongside her son Derek from BYU in 2005.

Jan’s parents, husband, and children were her passion. She gave her life in their service and the service of others. She was selfless to a degree rarely seen on the earth. She cared for her children with everything she had. She spent thousands of hours on gifts from her heart that are priceless treasures to her loved ones. Her gifts of the heart combined her phenomenal talent with the pure love of a mother. She cared for her aging parents and later her Aunt Raine, with relentless passion and checked in with them several times a day. We smile to think of the reunion she is enjoying with them.

Jan was a gifted artist, and her children grew up seeing prints of her wildlife work on the walls of their schools, banks and other businesses in Utah Valley. She later became an accomplished sculptor and sculpted, painted, and dressed elegant Father Christmas figurines. She once donated a Father Christmas to the Festival of Trees that raised an exorbitant amount at auction for Primary Children’s Hospital. Her penmanship and giftwrapping skills were legend. She was a gifted cook and hosted countless dinners with widows and widowers. In short, she had far too many talents to enumerate.

Jan was a passionate and strident disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. She was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, filling many roles in her life. Most recently, she was a temple worker in the Provo Rock Canyon Temple. She was a passionate student of the Book or Mormon. She prayed with the faith of giants, and many requested and depended on her prayers in times of duress. She knew how to draw on the powers of heaven on behalf of those she loved. Her works and life testified boldly of the goodness and mercy of the Savior.

Jan was an angel of mercy in the lives of many. Countless people benefitted from her Christlike service and those lucky enough will forever feel blessed to have shared the journey with her.

She is survived by her loving husband of 56 years, Joe Delance Squire, her five boys, Lance (Mary), Jared (DeeAnne), Ryan (Melissa), Derek (Elizabeth), Gavin (Courtney), and 19 grandchildren that she adored. She is pre-deceased by her mother and father, her sisters-in-law Tauna Thurgood and Mary Squire, and her brothers-in-law Tyler Squire and David Squire.