Jay Ostler

Jay Lowell Ostler passed away peacefully on March 10, 2025. Jay was born on September 29, 1942 to Joseph and Mary Ostler. He had one sister, Marcia, who predeceased him. Jay moved frequently as a child and lived in various places in California, Utah, and Idaho. He served an LDS mission to Texas. Afterward, he obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University. He met his wife June at BYU and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple in December 1965. June and Jay graduated from BYU on the same day. They lived in Washington and Texas before settling in Sandy and ultimately South Jordan. They had six children: John, Lisa, Lori, Joni, Jana, and Jeff.

Jay was a devoted father and spent lots of time with his family. He taught his children to ride a bike and a motorcycle, drive a car, play racquetball, and shoot a gun. He helped his children with their homework, especially math. He was a voracious reader and had a huge library of books at home. When his children were too young to read by themselves, he would read classic books to them, such as “Call of the Wild” and “Among the Shoshones.” He took his family on road trip vacations to various places like Disneyland, Bryce, Zion, and numerous historical sites all across the country, clear to New York City and Washington, DC.

Jay’s most distinguishing characteristic was his love of animals. He could not live without pets. He forced his long-suffering wife to share their home (and bed) with multiple cats and dogs over the decades. In his retirement, Jay single-handedly cared for a colony of feral cats living in a vacant lot down the street. He rescued two deathly ill kittens from this colony, and they became his beloved pets. Other cats just appeared out of nowhere on his doorstep and were welcomed in. Jay often had a cat draped across his shoulders, or snuggled in his arms, while he muttered lovingly to them. He adored his dogs just as much. He loved all other kinds of animals too. He fed the birds and kept bees. He allowed his children to have pet ducks, lizards, hamsters, fish, newts, parakeets, salamanders, and a tarantula (often overriding June’s wishes in this regard). With the encouragement of his granddaughter Sarah, Jay purchased a gorgeous Arabian mare named Sugarshahq and doted on her even though she bit and kicked him. He loved the elephants at the zoo and would say to them, “Do you want to live with me?” He once described an invasion of ants in the laundry room as “my pets.”

Jay also pursued many varied hobbies. He purchased and learned to sail a racing sailboat. He was an avid gun collector and competitive shooter. He was on the Utah high-power rifle team and competed at the national high-power rifle matches at Camp Perry, Ohio for many years. He taught his children to shoot competitively also. He taught the kids to pick up their brass and he reloaded his ammunition. Jay was an excellent car mechanic and taught his children how to fix cars. He loved model train sets, and built and flew remote control airplanes. He dabbled in ham radio and learned to play the piano. He earned his master gardener’s certificate. He was a member of the Sons of Utah Pioneers. He was a faithful and devoted member of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and loved his years of service in the Jordan River Temple during his retirement.

Jay also got his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying his own single engine airplane.

Jay was plagued by Alzheimer’s in his last six years of life but did not lose his good humor until the very end.

Jay is survived by his wife June, his six children John (Maria) Ostler, Lori (Robert) Jenkins, Lisa (Mike) Taylor, Joni Ostler (husband Jon Beecher), Jana (Ryan) Marchant, and Jeff Ostler. He has 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by five of his beloved cats and by his horse, but we know he is joyfully reuniting with the dozens of other pets and family who went before him.

Funeral services are March 17, 2025 at 11 a.m. at Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home, 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan. Visitation with the family at 10 a.m. Interment at Herriman Cemetery immediately following the service.