after suffering from cancer. Almost 65 years ago on October 19, 1956, Jill joined a family of four older siblings who were blessed with remarkable parents. Losing her mother at age eight to cancer, Jill was thrilled to welcome a new mother who provided much love for her, three sisters and one brother, and provided three new brothers to the family as each came into the world. Her parents provided a strong foundation of faith in God and hard work mixed in with recreation when the chores were done. Following the steps of her father, Jill loved fishing!
At age 36, Jill began a journal, sharing her life’s experiences. She described herself in her early
teenage years as “very popular at school, top athlete and violin player, cheerleader, student body
officer and then the bottom fell out.” Serious depression and mental heath issues began to
surface and intensified as she graduated from high school and started working at Garfield School
for special needs children followed by other miscellaneous jobs. Somehow she persevered and
made it through several decades of extreme challenges. But Jill was a survivor! With the help of
newly developed medication, dedicated therapists, supportive friends and family, Jill began to
thrive. As her health issues stabilized with medication, she started working at Valley Services.
She worked there for nearly 20 years in custodial work, often in supervisory positions, and
received the 1997 Employee of the Year and the Governor’s Golden Key Ace Award in 2006.
She also served on the Valley Mental Health Board as a recovered client, another area where she
was recognized for her valuable insights.
In a television interview for KUED, Jill compared her experience to a Polaroid camera print that
is “black, but as time goes on, it gets brighter and brighter until it’s full-blown color. When I got
on the right meds, all of a sudden wow, those are pretty flowers! They’re pink or yellow
daffodils. Wow the trees are starting to bud! The leaves on the trees look beautiful in the fall
when there’s different colors.” When she was asked to define recovery, she answered,
“Wonderful, content, happy, grateful, humble, caring, empathetic, sympathetic, compassionate.
Compassionate - it’s my favorite word. I pray every day that I’m compassionate to people. And
that’s the way I want to be known.” Even though she worried about being good enough, we had
to remind her that compassion was one of the most important qualities of Jesus Christ. She
wrote in her journal “Life is worth living and now maybe I can make a difference in the lives of
the mentally ill.” And she accomplished that goal big time!
She miraculously was notified of a job as a Certified Peer Specialist and initially worked in a call
center and small bed facility related to the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (formerly UNI).
When the facility closed, she transferred to a call center called the “UNI Crisis Warm line,”
answering many calls each night from individuals who needed a listening ear. Jill blessed
thousands of individuals as they shared their mental health challenges she had experienced
herself while assessing if someone needed additional professional care. Jill had an innate ability
to accept and love individuals for who they were.
Jill loved her coworkers and deeply missed their association as she fought cancer and other
health issues for the last two years of her life, desperately wanting to continue working even
when her strength began to fail.
Jill was so excited to have her own apartment and eventually purchased her own condo and took
pride in being independent with the ability to take care of herself. She loved her cats who were
her cherished companions. The walls of her home were decorated with photos of her family,
awards, and uplifting thoughts. Angel statues adorned her furniture shelves. Jill herself was an
angel to many, concerned about others and spending many hours making personalized gifts for
Christmas and birthdays. Her positive attitude was second to none and her unique perspectives
and humor made us laugh! She continuously expressed gratitude for others and felt truly
blessed. Jill also believed in miracles. As life went on, she was determined to make some
changes in her life that allowed her to enter the Temple, something she desired with all her heart
and loved to do with her sisters on a regular basis. In order to do that, she received Priesthood
blessings and stopped smoking cold turkey after trying for decades, feeling prompted that her dad on the other side wanted her to try one more time. As her life was ending, she had the assurance that deceased family members were eagerly waiting to greet her. What a reunion that must have been. While we will deeply miss her, we are excited that she is with family in heaven and she will be another angel watching over her family on earth. Her light is shining even brighter from above.
Although you have likely already heard these cherished words again - along with a big hug, in the words of your father, Jill, we love you a whole...........................................................bunch!
We thank Sandy Woodruff for her care of Jill during her last few weeks on earth to allow her to
find comfort in the home she loved. Jill is survived by her sisters, Kathie Woodruff, Mary Ann
Kirk (David), Brenda Huish (Mark) and brothers Paul (Melissa), Danny, and Ben Hollingshaus
(Richard) and sister-in-law Pat Hollingshaus. She was greeted in heaven by her father John
Hollingshaus, mothers Barbara Jeanne Meakin and Janice Brown, brother Gary Hollingshaus and
sister-in-law Abby along with grandparents and a host of extended family.
Funeral services and viewings will be held at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Chapel (3401 S
Highland Dr). Viewings will be held Friday, Aug 27 from 6-8 pm and Saturday, Aug 28 from
9:30-10:45 am. The funeral will be held on Saturday, August 28 at 11 am. Internment will
follow directly after the services in the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. Jill was happy to be
buried by her brother Gary. Due to the current Covid 19 infection rates, we respectfully ask
friends and family to wear masks.
