Mourning the Passing of Friends: Forthcoming Funeral Services

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.  All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” ~ Helen Keller

Forthcoming funeral services are planned for the following friends from our community. Complete versions of these obituaries may also be found in The Payson Chronicle.

Barbara Jeanne Dewsnup

Former Payson and Santaquin resident Barbara Jeanne Dewsnup passed away April 9, 2019, at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. She was 76 years old.  Private memorial service was held. Jeanne's favorite place was the TruVu Drive In, watching a movie under the stars. A date will be announced later this summer for the community to come and enjoy a free movie in her memory.

Barbara Jean "Jeanne" Smith was born January 2, 1943, to Milvin and Barbara (Thornley) Smith in Payson, UT.  She spent her childhood and attended school in Santaquin City, UT; she graduated from Payson High School with the class of 1961.

On October 27, 1965, Jeanne married Stanley J. Dewsnup in Las Vegas, NV. The couple moved to Delta in 1968. The couple had the honor of sharing 39 years of love and marriage before Stanley passed away in January 2005.

Stan and Jeanne moved to Delta after purchasing the Egyptian and Big Sky. They later  purchased the TruVu from good friend Fred Chubka when he retired.

Jeanne worked seven nights a week right up until her death. She loved going to work and chatting with her customers. She had been in business so many years that she knew generations of locals by name. Jeanne loved the drive-in theater best. She liked the action of walking up and down the rows, shining her flashlight in cars to see what the kids were doing in the back seat. Jeanne easily walked the fine line between keeping order and still being cherished by all.

The Egyptian Theatre is a well-cared for historic building. Despite the old building, Jeanne was always on top of cutting edge technology, being one of the first in the state to offer 3D movies. Remember watching Avatar in 3D on the big screen at the Egyptian? Most small theaters used fundraisers to make the expensive equipment change to digital projection, or had to close their doors. Jeanne dug deep and managed to  upgrade without asking the community to help. She owned and operated them for the next 51 years. The theaters were her life.

Few people knew that in the off-season she enjoyed traveling. She had been to every continent aside from Antarctica. She also enjoyed rock concerts; among her favorites were The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Diamond. Jeanne was an avid reader and coffee drinker; she always had a pot of coffee going at the theater and she would grab a book and a cup and wait for the movie to get over. She was a true animal lover, quietly donating to numerous animal charities around the world. She was a woman with no fear, learning to swim in her 40s so she would be able to go snorkeling and scuba diving during her travels. She also obtained her pilot's license.  Jeanne was very proud that she was honored to be the Grand Marshal at the 2018 Deltarado Days.

Jeanne is survived by her daughter, Kelly (Jacinto) Iniguez, three sisters, Sara Brown, Beverly (Paul) Mower, and Lucy (Michael) Vengrow. She is further survived by two grandchildren, Luis (Linnea) Iniguez and Julia Marcela Iniguez.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, sister Frances Tanner.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Jeanne's name to: Tails, 720 W. 4th Street, Delta, CO 81416.

-