Jay Heber Meidell

Jay Heber Meidell, age 96, died on February 20, 2026, in Salt Lake City as he was returning from a Hawaiian cruise.

Born January 2, 1930, in Salt Lake City to Esther Fern Tucker and Heber Joseph Meidell

Married to Sherry Meidell

Having lost his father when he was very young, Jay was raised by his single mother during the Great Depression. In 1942 his mother fell in love with and married an auto mechanic, Jess Tucker, and Grandpa Tucker came into Jay’s life. Grandpa Tucker taught him to be an auto mechanic, and Jay would spend the rest of his life helping friends and family fix their cars. Jay served in the United States Army from 1948 to 1949 and then served an additional 13 years in the active Army Reserve, retiring as a Master Sergeant. While studying at the University of Utah and working as a machinist at Hill Air Force Base, Jay was offered a job by Chevrolet Motors and worked many years as an Area Service Manager. He started out in Salt Lake, then was transferred to Billings and took his family to Montana, and finally ended up in Bountiful, Utah. The boys used to love seeing the new cars he would bring home as his work vehicles, even though they were usually the big family cars like the Caprice or the Impala instead of the Camaro or Corvette. In later years Jay sold big rigs at Peterbilt in Salt Lake.

Jay loved to boat and fish, and spent many summers at Scofield Reservoir: fishing, water skiing, and working on the family cabin. And Lake Powell was a favorite of his, whether on a small cabin cruiser or a big houseboat. While on a trip with Sherry they went on a snorkeling tour, and 95-year-old Jay set a record for the oldest person to ever snorkel with them. And then there’s the golf! Well into his nineties Jay loved to golf, spending time with friends as part of the “Sunday Drivers” and with his sons as they headed all over the United States on their golf vacations. Even though his golf shots got shorter and shorter with age, he consistently put his drives straight down the fairway while his sons were hooking and slicing their shots all over the golf course.

Survived by:

Wife—Sherry Meidell

He had five sons with Goldie Burt: Mark (Emily), David (Sherry), John (Claudia), Paul (Andrea), and Daughter-in-law Nancy.

Step-children: David Riet (Sandy), Troy Riet (Marisol), Chrissy Smith (Blaine), and Brandi Ricks (Tim). 

Jay had 26 grandchildren, 61 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren, 18 step grandchildren, and 16 step great grandchildren.

Preceded in death by his parents, his sister Susan Tucker, and his son, Philip.

The funeral services will be held on Saturday February 28th in the Hillcrest 9th Ward, 915 East 9045 South, Sandy, Utah. There will be a viewing from 10:30-11:30 am prior to the funeral service at 12:00 noon, followed by the burial at Murray City Cemetery.

To stream services please click HERE