Kelly Summers

Kenneth Kelly Summers, 80, of Grand Junction, Colorado passed away surrounded by his family on January 27, 2022, in Denver, Colorado.

Kelly was born on August 29, 1941, and grew up in Monticello, Utah or as he referred to it, “God’s country.” As a boy, he considered himself the luckiest boy in the world because he was a Mormon and a cowboy. After a blessed childhood, he graduated from Brigham Young University in 1965. During that time, he also served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northern States Mission for two years. He graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law in 1968. While in law school, he met a school teacher, Clarissa Eames, and they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple on August 17, 1966. They settled in Grand Junction, Colorado where they enjoyed the next 54 years, raising their six children beneath the red rocks of the Colorado National Monument. Kelly’s legal career with Golden, Mumby, Summers, Livingston, & Kane spanned almost 40 years.

Kelly served faithfully in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the course of his entire life including as bishop of the Grand Junction 8th Ward and as president of the Grand Junction West Stake. One of his most treasured service opportunities was acquiring and building a youth church camp at Ragged Mountain. Kelly loved seeing the fulfillment of promised blessings of missionary service and temple marriages because of this camp.

Kelly was a lover of history, BYU sports, and Rocky Ridge. He was an easy person to love, and he loved easily. He loved teaching and mentoring youth throughout his life, both in church and paralegal classes at Mesa State College for many years. At the age of 60, he discovered a joy in running, biking, and hiking. He ran his own marathon, completed the Kokopelli Trail, ran fifteen Bolder Boulders, and hiked ten Colorado 14ers. As he would say, “I’m a poor racehorse, but a pretty good mule.”

Kelly is survived by his wife of 55 years, Clarissa, his children, Kate (and Aaron, deceased) Waters, Carol Summers, Connie Summers, Kenny (and Johanna) Summers, Kimberly Summers, and Catherine (and Gabriel) Olivares, and his ten grandchildren: Curtis, Michael, Kerilynn, Drew, Ian, Owen, Mya, Penelope, Theodore, and Dexter. He also leaves behind his surrogate daughter, Misty (Richard) De La Rosa, and three surviving sisters, Jean Robinson, Ann Shepherdson, and Kathleen Kuhni. He is preceded in death by his parents, Johanna (Beth) and Kenneth Summers, and his sister, Helen Redd.

The viewing will be held at the Redlands Chapel, 2235 Kingston Road, Grand Junction, CO 81507, on Friday, February 4, from 9 -10:30 AM. The funeral will follow at 11 AM. Kelly will be laid to rest at the Monticello City Cemetery on Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 12 PM. If you need further information, you can contact Brown’s Cremation & Funeral Service, https://www.brownscremationservice.com/.

Live streaming will be available via zoom https://zoom.us/j/92704752858?pwd=cm1pdjA4VVc2cnRyNG5SKzlhME9tdz09

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Parkinson’s Foundation, www.parkinson.org and Grand Valley Catholic Outreach-Soup Kitchen, www.catholicoutreach.org/donate.