Julie Elizabeth Honstein Fielding

Julie Elizabeth Honstein Fielding was born on July 2nd, 1960 in Westminster, California. The eternal life of the party, she decided to ring in the New Year on the other side of the veil with loved ones she has missed for years. She passed away surrounded by her husband and children on January 1st, 2025 at St. George Regional Hospital (forever Dixie Regional to her) from gallbladder carcinoma. 

Julie was the proud daughter of Harvey Honstein and Betty Robinson. Her early years were spent becoming a California Girl. She loved the sun, the ocean and growing up in Garden Grove, where she was minutes away from the newly built Happiest Place on Earth. 

At the age of 10 she and her family moved to North Ogden, UT. An introverted extrovert, she spent many hours alone at the family piano teaching herself to play. With minimal formal training, Julie became an accomplished pianist who would share her musical talents in every community she was part of throughout her life. Her children loved to hear her late night jam sessions, especially at Christmas time, where she would play near the dim lights of the Christmas Tree. Her favorite place to play other than the comfort of her own home was accompanying many friends and family at church and other events. She was particularly proud to accompany Jadon Webster whenever he was in town. 

She attended Weber High School and graduated in 1978. While attending high school she met and started dating Kevin Fielding. Julie wrote to Kevin faithfully while he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Netherlands, but that didn’t mean she was “waiting” for him. While Kevin was serving his mission she spent two years studying “Campus Wildlife” at Weber State University. Her journals indicate she made the most of her time there, and made every effort to date as many guys as she could to make sure Kevin was for sure the one she wanted to end up with. She also found time to serve on the Institute Council and occasionally study.

By the time Kevin returned from his mission she knew that he was the one for her (unless Donny Osmond decided to intervene at any point), and she and Kevin were sealed for time and all eternity on June 12th, 1981 in the Salt Lake Temple. Their Cowboy Western reception was the first themed shindig she would throw, but it would definitely not be the last. Her family still drinks root beer out of glass cowboy boot mugs to this day to honor the party it was. 

Kevin and Julie’s marriage was made in heaven (but, in her words, so were thunder and lightning). They would weather many storms together, and somehow always come out stronger. They quickly grew their family and had six kids in 10 years. Their oldest, Logan, was born just nine months after they were married. Seventeen months later Tara would join their family. They were blessed to have her on this side of the veil for 3 months. On December 5th, 1983 Julie awoke to discover that Tara had passed in the night from SIDS. 

It was a very difficult time for both Julie and Kevin. One night after Tara’s passing they decided to go see “A Christmas Story”, a new Christmas movie that had just come to theaters. It was the first time they were able to laugh or smile after Tara’s passing. Determined to find joy in the midst of sorrow, they would incorporate the movie into their Christmas celebrations from that time forward. This has culminated in an official Leg Lamp Lighting Ceremony at their house that happens every Thanksgiving night. Kevin and Julie also chose to spend every December 5th decorating the family Christmas tree in Tara’s honor, and to bring as much joy as possible to a day that was otherwise filled with sadness and heartache. Their children have carried this tradition on, each in their own ways, as they spend every December 5th decorating a “Tara Tree” in her memory.

Their time to grieve was limited as they soon discovered that they were pregnant with their third child. Elijah joined the family nine months after Tara’s death. Just weeks after his birth he had to be rushed to Primary Children’s Medical Center where life-saving measures were required to keep his heart beating. He had been born with coarctation of the aorta, which they were thankfully able to fix with surgery. Morgan, Caleb and Paige all joined the family in coming years in much less dramatic fashion. 

Julie and Kevin raised their family for many years in Ogden Valley, a place they still to this day consider to be home. During this time Julie worked as an ER Admittance Clerk at McKay Dee Hospital before becoming a secretary at Snowcrest Junior High School. She also found time to serve in the community in many ways, including on the AYSO board and PTA. When the first grocery store, Valley Market, came to town she was the only adult who joined the coloring contest to help name the store’s mascot. She won and was given a wooden bear statue to commemorate her achievement. Her prized bear “Triton” graced the fireplace mantel for years. 

In the summer of 1997 Kevin and Julie decided to make their own Pioneer trek and moved the family to Santa Clara, UT on July 24th. Shortly after moving to Southern Utah, Julie would fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a grocery store clerk/bagger, working at Lin’s Marketplace. When Utah’s very first charter school was opening, Julie decided to head back to her secretary roots and became the first Head Secretary of Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts. She loved her time there working with Dr. Broberg and mentoring dozens of young adults, always leading with love and humor. 

Determined to finish what she started at Weber State, Julie returned to school at Dixie State University (not Utah Technical University). She spent many nights shedding tears over complex math problems so she could finish what she started, and received her Associates Degree in 2006. 

A Warrior at heart, Julie switched to being a secretary at Snow Canyon High School so she could be where her own kids were. She loved her time there, and especially enjoyed being the Assistant Cheer Coach while Paige was a cheerleader. While there, Julie was able to start her next dream job of working at Skywest Airlines at night so she could get flight benefits. This job ignited her passion for spontaneous travel, dictated by the whims of standby ticket availability. She had many travel companions join her on her adventures over the years, and she always brought all of her family and friends along through hilarious Facebook posts. When her oldest grandchild turned 8, she and Kevin started the tradition of doing a one-on-one birthday trip for each grandchild, a tradition Kevin will continue to carry on in her absence. 

After the global pandemic in 2020 shut down much of the travel industry for a season and ended her job at Skywest sooner than she had hoped, Julie returned once again to her roots as a school secretary, spending her last years working at Dixie Middle School, Desert Hills High School and Career Tech High School. Her love influenced many young adults during their most vulnerable growing up years, and there were many who considered her to be their second mother. 

Julie’s greatest treasure in this life was her family and we know she will still be cheering us all on (at least now she doesn’t have to bring her cross-stitch to avoid a red card and being thrown out of the game). She is survived by her husband, Kevin and her children Logan (Abby) Fielding, Elijah (Melissa) Fielding, Morgan (Bryce) Bangerter, Caleb (Brittany) Fielding and Paige (Mike) Ward. Her 20 grandchildren were her greatest joy, and they will miss their Gma/Meeshaw more than anyone. She was preceded in death by her parents Harvey and Betty, and her daughter Tara. 

Visitations will be held at 3868 S Bentley Road, St. George, UT 84790 on Tuesday, January 7th from 6-8pm and Wednesday, January 8th from 9:30-10:30am. Funeral services will begin at 11:00am. Please remember to stuff your purse or pockets with a little candy to get you through the services.

A livestream will be available for those who are not able to attend in person, and a recording will be available for viewing afterwards. (Julie would INSIST on technology being used to connect us all during this time.)

Burial services will take place at a later date at Cemetery Point in Huntsville, where she will finally get to rest next to Tara.

In lieu of flowers, please go broke spending money on a great Facebook Marketplace find, especially if it’s a thoughtful gift for a cherished family member or total stranger. If you need someone to pick it up or transport it between Northern/Southern Utah, Kevin would be happy to oblige (but will probably be muttering under his breath while doing it).