Kayle George Stephenson

September 12, 1949 – August 24, 2026

Kayle George Stephenson, 76, of Holden, Utah, passed away at his home on August 24, 2026.

Kayle was born September 12, 1949, in Fillmore, Utah, to George Bennett Stephenson and Rhea Dean Robinson Stephenson. He was raised in Holden as one of eleven children.

Holden and the mountains of central Utah were woven deeply into Kayle’s identity. He loved the outdoors—hunting and fishing, mountains and wide-open country. In winter, he could often be found somewhere on a snow-covered mountain searching for the perfect Christmas tree. He loved motorcycles, trucks, golf, cameras and photography—interests that reflected both his curiosity and his enjoyment of being outdoors and seeing what was around the next corner.

Kayle was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young man, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. His upbringing in Holden helped instill qualities that remained with him throughout his life: hard work, independence, self-reliance, loyalty to family and a willingness to help others.

Kayle began his working career as a member of Operating Engineers Local 3 on March 1, 1971. During the next two decades, his work took him throughout Utah and other parts of the West and included construction, surveying and work on major industrial projects. He worked on Billies Mountain near Thistle, Utah, and was there during the devastating Thistle flood of 1981. His work also included major power-generation construction projects in central Utah.

Kayle became both a licensed land surveyor and a licensed contractor—accomplishments that reflected his analytical mind, technical ability and determination. His professional life eventually took him to Nevada, where he worked for Hanson Aggregates.

Then, approximately thirty years ago, Kayle’s life changed dramatically.

A near-fatal workplace accident in Nevada left him with devastating injuries. He spent approximately six months in a coma and underwent extensive medical treatment and reconstruction. His recovery was long and difficult. He eventually learned to walk again with the assistance of a cane, but the injuries left him with physical limitations and chronic pain that remained with him for the rest of his life.

The accident ended the working life Kayle had known, but it did not end his determination to live.

In talking about that period of his life, Kayle remembered the influence of his mother. She helped him understand that he had a choice. He could spend the rest of his life dwelling on what he had lost and what his life might have been, or he could accept the life he still had and move forward.

Kayle chose to move forward.

That choice may say as much about him as anything else in his life. The decades after his accident were not easy, but Kayle rarely made his pain or limitations the center of attention. He adapted to a very different life, maintained his independence and continued to find things he enjoyed. For most of those years, his life was once again centered in Holden, among the familiar mountains, roads and people of the small community where he had grown up and where he felt at home.

Kayle could be quiet and was often a man of few words, but behind that quiet manner was a keen and analytical mind and a wonderfully dry and mischievous sense of humor. He enjoyed games that rewarded strategy and thought, including cribbage, pinochle and especially chess. He was an exceptionally good chess player and enjoyed the challenge of thinking several moves ahead.

He also enjoyed the simpler rhythms of everyday life. In his later years, a typical morning might include a drive from Holden to Fillmore for breakfast, picking up his mail, visiting with people he knew and then returning home. He enjoyed sports, especially basketball and football, a good movie, and the opportunity to sit and visit with someone who stopped by.

Kayle could also be remarkably generous. Over the years, several of his nephews remember visiting him and being trusted with the keys to some of the very fast cars he enjoyed owning. He took pleasure in letting them experience something exciting that he could share with them. Those who knew Kayle well saw that generosity in many forms. He did not always talk about caring for people; more often, he simply found his own way to show it.

Family remained an important part of Kayle’s life. He was especially proud of his three daughters and followed the lives they built for themselves and their families. Although distance sometimes separated them, they remained an important part of his life.

Kayle will be remembered as a tough and independent man with a sharp mind, a dry sense of humor, an adventurous spirit and a deep love of the outdoors. More importantly, he will be remembered as someone who faced an enormous change in his life and made a conscious decision not to spend the years that remained mourning the life he had lost.

As Kayle expressed the lesson he had learned from that experience: when life gives you something you never expected and never wanted, you can stay focused on what you lost, or you can go forward with what you have.

Kayle chose to go forward.

Kayle was married first to Wendy Marie Wilson, with whom he had his three daughters. They later divorced. He subsequently married Mary Winn Robinson of Salina, Utah; they made their home for a time in Las Vegas and later divorced.

Kayle is survived by his three daughters, Cindi “Izzy” Collett (Joyce), Kelli Heath (Jason), and Arien Chavez (Jason); his grandchildren, Gage and Jackson; his siblings, Karen Richardson (Coral), Michael Stephenson (Dianne), Debra Meppen (Rodney), Myron Stephenson (Robyne), Hoyt Stephenson (Margie), Preston Stephenson (Roberta), and Realaine Goettsche (Brad); and many nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Rhea Dean Stephenson, and his siblings Paula Christensen, Betty Ann Stephenson and Lindy Stephenson.

A viewing will be held Friday, September 4, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., followed by a Celebration of Life from 11:00 a.m. to noon at Holden Ward Church (100 E. 100 N). Burial and dedication of the grave will follow at the Holden Cemetery in Holden, Utah. Online condolences and Live Stream Link at rasmussenmortuary.com in his obituary.

Kayle will be laid to rest in the Holden Cemetery, alongside members of his family and within sight of the mountains and community that were home for so much of his life.