Dana Leonard Jeffs

Dana was born in Nampa, Idaho to Enos and Lucille Jeffs. He spent his growing up years in Caldwell, Idaho. He spent one year (fall of 1965-spring of 1966) at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, then he accepted a mission call from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve in the California Mission (fall of 1966-fall of 1968). During his mission, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. An illness that had already been in his family as his mother had been diagnosed with the disease many years before. When he returned from his mission, he worked the reast of the year (fall 1968-fall 1969), then re-enrolled at Utah State University. He graduated in June of 1973 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was elected to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at Utah State. His first job was with Galigher Company in Salt Lake City. Dana stayed with the same company even though there were many name changes from the summer of 1972 until the spring of 2013. He received a special award from the business for his 35 years of service in 2007.

Dana met Jeralyn (Jerry) Squiers at his cousin’s home in Bountiful, Utah. She was student at BYU and had made arrangements to go Christmas shopping with her aunt. Dana was living in his cousin’s basement. Dana’s cousin’s husband was Jerry’s uncle. She drove to her aunt and uncle’s home and met him there. They met in December of 1972 and were married on August 11, 1973 in the St. George Temple. They lived in American Fork, Utah for a year so Jerry could finish her college degree, then they moved to Salt Lake City. They purchased their home in the Morton Meadow subdivision in March of 1981.

In 1995, Dana fell off a ladder and broke his right foot. Surgery was performed and he was put into a walking cast. His foot healed, but not well. After a couple of years, infection set in and in the spring of 1998, his right foot was amputated. He worked with wonderful prosthetic technicians during the last 30 years of his life. His prosthetics were a wonderful asset. In the winter of 2016, Dana caught the flu, and became very weak. He fell in his bedroom, hitting the metal bed frame on his way to the floor. He spent several months in a rehab facility. However, once again, an infection set in, and in June of 2017, his left foot was amputated. Six weeks later, he walked up the aisle to the podium in the Meadow Ward Chapel, and bore his testimony. There were many in the congregation who had tears in their eyes. There were many setbacks along the way, but Dana put up a good fight against all of them. He received many wonderful priesthood blessings from priesthood holders, as did his wife. The last few years have been a struggle. The worst challenge was a massive heart attack in 2019. To look at him several months later, you would not know anything was wrong.Dana had an extremely strong belief in God, the Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. His testimony was made stronger each time he faced another health challenge. He enjoyed helping people especially with their computers. He liked to see people’s faces when their computers began to work after they were fixed. He always wanted to serve a service mission, and now he can.

He will be missed by his brothers, John (Edie), and Galan (April), and his sisters, Renita (Jack), and Diana (Larry), his sister-in-law, Judy (Ron), and many nieces and nephews, friends, ward members, and mostly, his wife, Jerry.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, November 12, 2025, in the Meadow Ward Chapel, 1955 West 400 North, Salt Lake City, Utah. A viewing will be held in the Relief Society Room of the Chapel from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., the day of the funeral.

Services will be streamed live on Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and this obituary page.

The family wishes to thank all of his doctors, nurses, technicians, and prosthetic technicians who took care of Dana.