Jill Thomas Frost

Jill Thomas Frost, age 56, passed away in her home in Mesa, Arizona on January 4th, 2024 due to complications with COVID and Diabetes. 

Jill burst into this world on January 3rd, 1968 to Barbara Kay Jansson and Robert Fred Thomas in Logan, Utah. She was the second of 7 children and was privileged to have been raised in a close-knit, warm, loud, welcoming home. Jill’s parents knew all her friends by name and took great interest and joy in their lives as they grew up, which Jill later continued with her own children’s friends. 

She spent her elementary school years in north Ogden, Utah and her junior high years in Littleton, Colorado where she made friends who have stayed close over the decades.  During the Littleton years, many happy days were spent in the mountains with skis underfoot. She was a great skier on water and snow.  Perhaps, the thing she liked most about both was the suntanned face she got in the mountains and the great tan she got on the boat. Jill was just simply happier with a good tan.

Her dad was a pharmaceutical rep who enjoyed taking Jill and her siblings on special daddy daughter/son work trips with him. Jill always had a tender relationship with her dad and it showed in the giant smile he had in her presence. “Tilly” as he called her, was an eager student and those early seeds planted from her medical office visits with her dad took root. Jill pursued her medical field passion by becoming a nurse and later in life was the biggest cheerleader for two sisters and several nieces who followed suit. 

Jill met her husband Rick when he strolled into Orem’s Kentucky Fried Chicken for an all-you-can-eat meal. Their first date was to homecoming at Orem High where Rick learned quickly he had a younger brother, Scott to win over. Rick and Jill and her siblings had a closely intertwined circle of friends who impacted them greatly and have continued to do so over the years. Jill graduated from Orem High, class of 1986. She corresponded with Rick faithfully for two years while he served an LDS service mission in Alabama. Shortly after he returned home, they were married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple on July 14th 1989.

Their early years of marriage, as poor college students, at Utah State University were treasured years. Rick and Jill reflected on these years often. Some of Jill’s most cherished friendships developed in Logan. In January of 1994 they welcomed their daughter Sydni “Bug” Frost. In 1996, after accepting their first post-grad jobs in Huntington, Utah, they welcomed their daughter Cassidy, “Casper” Frost. She was equally proud, passionate and feisty in favorite roles as wife, mother and nurse. 

In the fall of 1999, Rick and Jill moved to Arizona to raise their family in the valley of the sun, where she could enjoy 364 sunny days a year. She made great efforts to manage her time and energy to ensure that her girls always got the best of her. She worked the graveyard shift as a nurse for years while the girls were young so she could be home with them during the day and available to them at the crossroads of their lives. In 2005, she pivoted into occupational health and collectively worked for over 20 years at Dignity Health. 

Jill never left a job undone, half done or even simply 100% done. She always over-delivered with her whole heart. She went above and beyond in her role as sister and aunt, earning the nickname “Aunt Hog” for her insistence on smothering with love. She instilled in her children the value of education as they watched her fiercely pursue her post graduate goals at both the University of Phoenix and Grand Canyon University. 

Jill was a nurturer. She was known in her community and neighborhood for sharing her time through meaningful conversation. She loved her pet wiener dogs, who were kept warm in the Arizona winters by her crochet sweaters. Her countless roles in Church service, her crocheted blankets, Christmas toffee, homemade rolls and the love she extended towards others has impacted many. However, her best days were spent with her family, toes in the sand and a crisp diet coke with lime in her hand. 

Jill stayed busy as the soccer mom, the basketball mom and the coach’s wife, the Lotoja support crew, the RMHS basketball bookkeeper, the Easter Pageant Nurse, etc. She dove head first into whatever her girls or husband loved. In her “empty nesting” years, Rick and Jill fell back in love with passing time together. They attended 80s band concerts with siblings, paddle boarded the Salt River, attended ASU football games, camped in the White Mountains and found ways to adventure together. They took every opportunity to gather their family together and create meaningful memories that will be cherished forever. Seeing Jill in her “Grandma Jilly” era was pure magic. She will be sorely missed. 

First and foremost, Jill was a mother with a lion heart who spent her days and nights in the pursuit of her children’s safety, peace and joy. Her husband was her companion and best friend from her teenage years as they grew in faith, purpose and experience together. They built their dreams together with purpose, planning and dedication. They were committed to their shared goals and worked hard to meet them. Rick and Jill had a way of finishing each other’s thoughts and guiding each other’s decisions and actions. They could communicate so much with a teasing quip or a humorous question that made the other pause and review a situation or a statement. Jill was always quick to speak, quick to share her opinion and quick to apologize and self-correct when needed.  She was a woman of true grace, a gracious and generous spouse, mother, daughter, sister, colleague and friend. We are all changed and bettered by our association with Jill. 

Jill is survived by her husband Frederick (Mesa, AZ);  her mother Barbara Thomas (Orem, Utah), her children Sydni (Samuel Snyder, Logan Utah) and Cassidy (Anchorage, AK), her two grandbabies Cal and Huddy and her 6 siblings; Lori Zubeck (Delta UT), Scott Thomas (Holladay, UT), Holley Aldred (Orem UT), Melanie Bullock (Orem, UT), Ryan Thomas (Portland, OR), and Lindsay Curtis (Riverton, UT) and her 32 nieces and nephews, all of whom consider themselves her favorite. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Thomas, her brother-in-law Brent Bullock and her dear in-laws Herbert and Elinor Frost. 

In Mesa, a viewing will be held at the LDS church house at 3025 S. Hawes Road Mesa, AZ 85212 from 6-8PM on January 9th.  A Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, January 10th at 11am.  For those unable to attend the service in person, you will be able to follow this link: https://zoom.us/j/98346948401

In Utah, a viewing and open house will be held at 762 E 1200 N Orem, on Saturday, January 13th from 10am-12pm. 

In lieu of flowers, consider donating to help diabetes research at diabetes.org/ways-to-give  Get Involved | ADA (diabetes.org) 

Arrangements by Bunker’s University Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.