In Memory

John Kirigin

John Lawrence Kirigin, Jr. "On Top of the World" John Lawrence Kirigin, Jr. died suddenly on July 2, 2005 of a heart attack caused by undetected heart disease at the age of 54, leaving those of us who knew and loved him with a profound sense of loss and disbelief. We take some comfort knowing that he was in a beautiful place, at the top of Hidden Peak, doing what he loved: skiing with his son, Jay Bowman-Kirigin, the person he loved most in the world. But he left us and the mountaintop far too soon. John's life revolved around supporting Jay's passion for skiing and for learning. He lived to see his son achieve the number one ranking in his '06 class at East High, win the Junior Olympics in moguls, and receive the silver medal at Nationals. He believed in living a simple life, unencumbered by a quest for material things. Much of his time and resources went toward helping Jay pursue his dream of becoming an Olympic mogul skier. Those who know how much effort and sacrifice is required to support talented offspring are gladdened that John lived long enough to see some of that dreamed fulfilled. Jay will finish out the run on the mountain for his dad. John was born March 31, 1951, in Napa, California to Peggy and Jack Kirigin. He was the youngest of their four children. They moved to Tooele when John was a teenager. He lived most of his life in Salt Lake City. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics at UC Berkeley, and another Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah. He worked at Unisys Corporation (formerly Sperry) for 19 years. His co-workers revered him as a talented and respected engineer. He married Elizabeth (Betsy) Bowman, they were later divorced. John will be sorely missed by those he left behind, because he was a good man who did his best as a father, brother, son, friend and worker. He is survived by his son Jay (Salt Lake City), his sister Kathryn Kirigin (Coronado, California), his brothers Lawrence (Sandy, Utah) and Gary (Wendover, Utah) and his step mother Mary Kirigin (Playas del Coco, Costa Rica). He was preceded in death by his mother and his father. John's family would like to thank the team of EMTs, ski patrollers and the doctor present on Hidden Peak for their incredible efforts to save John's life. He couldn't have been in better hands.