Deon Casper Hortin

Our dear Mom, Grandma, Grandma-Great, and friend, Deon Hortin, returned to her heavenly home on February 9, 2024.

Deon was born on September 30, 1934, to Joseph Warren and Rena May Woodard Casper in Daniel, Utah. Her early years were spent on the family farm where she learned the value of hard work. Following her graduation from Wasatch High School, she worked for the phone company in Salt Lake City and lived in the Beehive House while it served as a boarding house for young women.

During these years, Deon met her sweetheart, John Kent Hortin. One of their earliest dates was to a local dance where the gentleman’s ticket price was based on the weight of his date. Whenever Deon recounted the story, she recalled that she stepped on the scale and closed her eyes. Ever a true gentleman, Kent never revealed the price he paid for them to enter. They were later married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple on August 27,1954, and are the proud parents of five loving children. While Kent went to school at Utah State University, she earned her PHT, otherwise known as “Putting Hubby Through.”

Kent and Deon were an inseparable team and they treasured their 48 years together. They enjoyed dancing, especially the Foxtrot. They liked to take their family on Saturday morning cookouts to Red Canyon, and loved to watch the local ball games, especially when their children were playing. They did everything together.

Deon was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her strong testimony of her Savior Jesus Christ served as a guiding beacon in her life. In their later years, Kent and Deon were called to a service mission at the Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch in St. Cloud, FL, where she spent her time volunteering at a nearby school, assisting the Family History Center, and serving in the Orlando Temple. Deon sent stories home of their new friends, picking oranges nearby, and courageously facing her fear of snakes. Upon returning home, Deon continued her temple service at the Logan Temple as an ordinance worker. Her love of the temple was evident through the twinkle in her eyes.

Deon was incredibly talented and showed her love often by taking time to create. She was an avid quilter and many of her family members have received beautiful quilts through the years. She enjoyed crafting homemade cards for her loved ones’ birthdays. She delighted in compiling photos and memories in scrapbooks to mark special occasions. Each and every masterpiece is a treasure. A fond memory of many of her grandchildren is time spent in Deon’s kitchen making Grandma’s cinnamon rolls. Nothing tastes quite as good as Grandma’s recipe.

One of Deon’s truest joys was being Grandma and Grandma-Great. She and Kent spent many happy hours attending ball games, concerts, various performances, and other special occasions in support of their grandchildren. Deon was happiest when surrounded by family and made everything fun with her teasing sense of humor and her easy laugh. Many happy memories were made at the annual Hortin Family Reunion where Deon encouraged family togetherness through pinatas, scavenger hunts, and cousin campouts on the deck. In her later years, her faithful, furry companions, Bo Willy, Sweetie, and Watson, joined the family and helped make her previously quiet house a place of excitement. 

Deon is survived by her children: Bret and Pam, Randy (Cheryla), Patti, John and Sherilyn, and daughter-in-law, Julie (Scott), 17 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Kent, son, Scott, daughter-in-law, Cheryla, and grandson, Joseph Bret.

Services will be held Saturday, February 17, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. at the Smithfield 8th Ward Chapel, 155 W. 400 N., Smithfield, Utah. Friends and family may visit that morning from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the church prior to services. Burial, Smithfield Cemetery.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to Lindsay Ricks, Braelyn Malone, Aegis Home Health and Hospice, and the wonderful staff at Maple Springs North Logan for their dedicated care of Deon.

Mom, you lived your life as an example to those around you and it accurately reflects the phrase “Celestial glory shall be mine if I can but endure.” You have shown us what it means to endure to the end and your legacy is a shining light for all of us. We love you. 

The funeral will be livestreamed and can be accessed by clicking on the following link: CLICK HERE TO VIEW LIVE FUNERAL