Ryan Chad Heywood

Ryan Chad Heywood died tragically in an automotive accident near his home in Morgan County on September 5th, 2026. His wife, Julie Ann Adolphson, and children, Jacob Ryan Heywood, Maren Kate Heywood Nelson, and Kate's husband, David Nelson, mourn his sudden departure beyond words can express. They collectively thank those who have offered their support in their anguished loss.

Ryan was the second child born (1972) to Robert Gaylen and Christine Dotson Heywood, beloved by his older brother Robert and two younger siblings, Randen and Camille and subsequently by their respective spouses, Wendy, Heather, and Shawn. A loving family and wonderful community in Sandy, UT marked Ryan's childhood and formative years. Baseball games, camping trips, piano lessons, family songs, hard work for a small family business, and visits to grandparents were some of the family routines of his younger years. Ryan loved a good game of golf with his Grandpa Dick or with his High School pals. Coming of age in the 80's, Ryan and his siblings enjoyed pounding out Billy Joel hits on their upright accompanied by karaoke-like sing-alongs. The Heywood home hummed with childhood and youthful energy, nestled within generational wisdom and strength.

As a young man, Ryan cultivated a love for the outdoors with amateur rock climbing and mountaineering, proof of which are found in photos of a youthful Ryan with his nose in a rock climbing book as well as the homemade harnesses and cams he fashioned out of hardware store webbing. In his married life, Ryan tempered the thrill-seeker in him to a degree and enjoyed road bike races, ironman triathlons in Hawaii, and other adventures, often with Julie, Jake, or Kate at his side. He was also content to cheer his family on from the sidelines, encouraging them in their many talents and interests. Birds, forests, mountains, multihued sunsets or sunrises thrilled Ryan's mind and heart and, most recently, he enjoyed getting close to nature via long rides on his motorcycle. He loved friendly competition, often initiating a foot race or pull game at family gatherings. He found fullness in an active and physical life.

Love of education, knowledge, and wisdom runs deep in Ryan and Julie's families. His grandfather was a public school teacher and respected principal, his mother a skilled and accomplished fifth grade teacher, his father a beloved CES seminary & institute instructor, and Julie is an elementary school teacher, after many years of running a preschool out of their home, a business that the couple worked on tirelessly together. At Brigham Young University, Ryan studied Zoolology and his children (not to mention his nieces and nephews) can attest to an encyclopedic ability to describe all kinds of things in the natural world, from the shape of ocean waves to celestial orbits to migrating birds' flight patterns. In the past few years, Ryan and Julie shared long walks in the mountains near their home, reflecting their shared appreciation for God's creations in the wild, and the simple and glorious beauty of life.

The union at the core of his life with Julie began on December 28th, 1994 in the Salt Lake City Temple. The two met while working as Spanish instructors at the MTC in Provo, UT. Ryan was deeply devoted to Julie's happiness, and she to his. The greatest object of their love, Jake Ryan (age 27) and Maren Kate (age 22), found in their father unending love and dedication. Their eternal family bonds endure and are a source of incredible strength at this time.

Ryan worked diligently and in equal partnership with Julie to provide for his family. He took his talents into executive logistics and systems management, where he became indispensable to several major businesses. Work assignments led Ryan, Julie, and their family to Spanish Fork, UT; Houston, TX; Tracy, CA; Czech Republic; Guadalajara, Mexico; Lehi UT; Twin Falls ID; and, finally, Mountain Green. In all these places, Ryan distinguished himself by his love for the one and their particular circumstance. Laborers at his last place of employment in Ogden have expressed how deeply they will feel his loss, because he strove to remain attentive to their needs and interested in their concerns. He knew those he supervised by name and spoke their language.

Ryan's ability to connect expanded during his full-time, two-year service as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Buenos Aires North Mission (1992-1993). He left home with two brand new suits and came home with one, giving away his second suit to a beloved Argentine companion with limited means. Argentina, its variety of the Spanish language, cuisine, and culture remained of great interest to Ryan. Whenever he could find a good bife, empanada, or share a yerba mate with a friend he would imbibe. He possessed a remarkable fluency in Spanish, even into his 50s, developing a tremendous vocabulary.

Ryan's literary talents developed from his youngest years and paired with a deep intellectual curiosity. He read wide and deep. His love of history led him to the biographies of great leaders, who he often quoted and who informed his civility and appreciation for many opinions. Ryan possessed that rare mind which could sustain multiple ideas and opinions simultaneously. Wonderfully creative, Ryan enjoyed drawing and, in more recent years, painting with watercolor. His chosen activity on vacations with his family was to capture unique landscapes and moments in watercolor.

Those closest to Ryan attest to a gift to identify what made one unique. Whenever he entered the room, his instinct was to converse one-on-one and recognize one's special talents, spiritual gifts, or interests and praise, engage, or otherwise appreciate them. It was an authentic form of friendliness. Discernment, it may be said, was one of Ryan's highest spiritual gifts. Julie remembers from their time in Guadalajara that Alejandro, a gardner who spent hours at their home, enjoyed a friendship with Ryan that left him leaving their home feeling like the most important man in the world. Not a small number of family or friends will attest to leaving a conversation with Ryan feeling of great worth. As family, near and far, have grieved his departure from this earth, they have found in old text threads, family albums, or handwritten notes Ryan's famous "birthday poems", which combined wit, no small amount of humor, and always ended with pure sincerity.

Kind, thoughtful, spontaneous, generous, service-oriented, a peacemaker, creative are the attributes of a man dedicated to Christian discipleship. Ryan treasured his service assignments and expanded his influence wherever he could. He played piano and organ, taught in Sunday School, administered on High Councils, and, more recently, served in the Ogden Temple as an ordinance worker. Together, Julie and Ryan served special needs people in their community, helping to organize monthly events. His fun and jovial attitude in service was infectious.

Ryan possessed a deep inner life, and poems only known to those closest to him until now attest to it–this one from November 2018:

A New Day

Over Mountain, tree, and grass

over glistening lights of dew,

A new day dawns and reaches

promising life and breathing hope.

Past is gone and fleeting away

with flaps of flocking birds.

A new day dawns and reaches

claiming its own great story.

Hearts beat with song and step

a rhythm yet unheard by men

A new day dawns and reaches your day,

Your day arrives in glory.

Ryan lived a beautiful and full life, one rooted in love for family, love for neighbor, and love for God. As his new day dawns, he has left behind a treasury of memories and artifacts that attest to a fiercely loyal and loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend.

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A viewing will occur on Friday September 18th 2026 from 6 to 8pm and on Saturday the 19th from 9:30 to 10:30am at the LDS Stake Center at 4270 Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Mountain Green, UT 84050.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday September 19th at the aforementioned LDS Stake Center, with the interment at South Morgan Cemetery (355 South State Street Morgan, UT 84050).