Bryce E Jeppsen was born to Elmer and Rula Jeppsen on September 25, 1945, in Brigham City, Utah, the second of their three children. Even when he was very young Bryce showed a mind for creativity and making things with moving parts. When he was just six years old, his father succumbed to a heart condition. A few years later, his mother married Lanell Foote, bringing a new brother and sisters into his life. Bryce learned to work in the family's peach orchards and doing yard work with his brother, Jim. During his teen years he also worked at the original Smith's Food King bagging groceries. Bryce enjoyed baseball growing up and loved to retell the story of his hitting a game-winning grand slam home run. While in high school, Bryce took part in yearly science fairs, his entries always in the field of electronics. It was during that time that he created his "shocking book" which he had designed so that the holder of the book received an electrical shock. He titled the book, "Getting the Feel of Electricity". Bryce made a great contribution to the installation and operation of the stage sound and lighting systems for the new Box Elder High School. His experience with stage lighting eventually led to his meeting his future bride. Bryce was always active in scouting and earned his Eagle Scout and Duty to God awards. He was a diligent piano student for many years, learning to play both in classical and popular styles. He loved to surprise people with his boogie-woogie arrangements of "Do What is Right" and other hymns. As an adult he also learned to play the clarinet because in Bryce and Karen's family band, a clarinet was needed to go along with the rest of the family's trombone, trumpet, flute, keyboard, tone bells, and percussion. A favorite family tradition was the little band going "caroling" at Christmas time to the homes of friends and neighbors. Bryce graduated from Box Elder High School, including 4 years of seminary. In 1964 he was called to the Brazil Mission where he served 2 1/2 years. While there he had the opportunity to speak to the Rotarians in Sao Paulo on the subject, "What it Means to be an American." They were amazed at his mastery of the Portuguese language in the short time he had been there. Following his mission, Bryce returned to Brigham Young University. His high school stage lighting experience enabled him to get a part-time job at the university, working on the Fine Arts building's stages. His first assignment introduced him to Karen Otteson, who was appearing in "The Lute Song". When the troup took the musical play on tour to California, Bryce and Karen had hours of bus time to get better acquainted. This was the beginning of their 55 years of love. They were married in the Idaho Falls Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 1, 1968. Their first child, Robert, was born the following year in Provo. Bryce earned his bachelors and masters degrees in Electronic Engineering in June of 1970, and he accepted employment with Hewlett-Packard in Santa Clara, California. This was during the era of the Vietnam War, and within a few months Bryce's deferments ran out. He was drafted into the army and served until 1972, when the war ended. Because of his advanced education, he was assigned to Dugway, Utah, to apply his engineering skills at the Deseret Test Center. While there, he was allowed to teach seminary at the high school, which was a challenge he really enjoyed. The little family also added another son, Bryan. during the army years. After his discharge from the army, Bryce & Karen returned to Santa Clara and Hewlett-Packard. All of his working career was spent at Hewlett-Packard until his retirement. The family continued to grow, with the birth of Kellie in 1973, and Scott in 1976. During these years, Bryce enjoyed church service, working with the youth and teaching early morning seminary. In 1978, the Boise Division of H-P was opened, and Bryce applied for a transfer so that the family could be closer to grandparents and other family. In October of 1978, they moved to Meridian, and have lived in the same house ever since. The last three children were born here: Julie in 1979, Kevin in 1980, and Ben in 1983. Bryce enjoyed his work at HP, designing various printers and managing the LaserJet products to production. Family was always the most important thing in Bryce's life. Family Home Evening was important, and family journals were kept recording what happened each week. Regular family councils were held each month, to make plans and lesson assignments, to decide what service the family could do, and to plan upcoming camping trips and vacations. Their favorite week of the year was always the week camping at Redfish Lake in central Idaho. It meant hauling a trailer for Mom & Dad, a tent for the boys, a tent for the girls, a waterski boat, a canoe, and plenty of food. The family awoke each morning to the sound of Bryce chopping kindling for the fire, and by the time they were dressed and stepping out of their tents, they would see their dad sitting by the fire reading his scriptures. Bryce felt it was important for the family to work together. When they moved from California to Idaho, their new home was not yet landscaped. Part of the children's daily chores was picking up wheelbarrows of rocks on the acre to prepare for seeding the lawn. Hours went into trenching and installing the sprinkling system Bryce designed. As the family grew, there were always plenty of projects to work on together. Service in the Church was a big part of Bryce's life. His favorite calling was teaching the gospel, especially to the youth he taught in seminary. He served in priesthood leadership at both stake and ward levels, as bishop of the Meridian 5th Ward, as a counselor in the Stake presidency, and as stake mission president. Together, Bryce and Karen served two missions. The first was a 2 1/2-year family history mission served from home, helping to introduce the new Family Search program. Then from 2009 to 2011, they were called to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to help administer the Perpetual Education Fund in that country. Bryce was a man who lived true to his convictions. He was kind, slow to anger, meek, and willing to accept the Lord's will. He was patient in suffering, and willing to endure humbly to the end. He truly spent his life trying to be like Jesus. Bryce is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Karen; his children: Robert Jeppsen, Bryan (Lynne) Jeppsen, Kellie (Scott) Stucki, Scott (Paula) Jeppsen, Julie (Bart) Whiteley, Kevin Jeppsen, and Ben (Heather) Jeppsen; and 21 awesome grandchildren. Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 7, 2023, at the Stoddard Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2555 Stoddard Rd., Meridian, with visitation from 9:00-9:45 a.m. prior to the services.
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