Jo Ann Brierley

Jo Ann Brierley, born on October 10th, 1949, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to George Call and Marian Meyers Benedict, passed away at home in her sleep on December 10th, 2025.

Jo Ann, the oldest of three children, had a wide range of interests and developed many talents from a young age. Her sister once said she was a force for good and could accomplish anything she set her mind to do. One of Jo Ann’s strengths was choosing carefully what she spent her time on, and when she decided to learn something new, she always gave it her best effort. This led to some amazing opportunities. She spent time as a dancer on the BYU folk dancing team and worked as a corporate secretary at the old ZCMI department store, where she sometimes filled in for various models during fashion presentations.

A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she actively sought to practice what she believed, trying to improve each day. She spent countless hours in service – cooking and sharing meals, sewing costumes for plays and roadshows, creating the decorations and setting up for ward parties, reaching out to help lift the lonely and brokenhearted. Jo Ann was shy, but because of this, she often noticed those who were a little forgotten or suffering on the outskirts. She was a brilliant seamstress and was often called on to make last minute adjustments to prom and wedding dresses or to tailor pant legs to fit.

Jo Ann married Kent Sharpe Brierley in the Salt Lake Temple on June 4, 1975, and they celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. Jo Ann was preceded in death by her parents and both siblings, but she is survived by many who love her still – her husband Kent, her six children, sixteen grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many other friends and family members. She was a mother who pushed her children to be their best selves and set high expectations. At the same time, she was there when her kids needed extra help with school work, and available to provide so many rides to and from activities and work, babysitting, or a place to stay when between homes or life experiences. She sacrificed her own comfort again and again to ease her kids’ burdens.

She taught art each school year in her six children’s classes on a volunteer basis until the youngest was moving to junior high. Adelaide Elementary realized they were about to lose a valuable teacher and hired her to be their art teacher from then until she retired many years later. Jo Ann believed that everybody was capable of being an artist and encouraged each of her students to find their own style. She found great joy in seeing them share their personalities as they developed their talents. 

Music was a vital part of Jo Ann’s life. She filled her home with music that brought joy and peace and made sure that each of her children had opportunities to develop their musical talents. She encouraged her kids to practice and somehow found a way to provide lessons and instruments when things were tight. Through her art, her crafts, her sewing, her music, and her quiet acts of kindness, Jo Ann brought a bit more beauty and kindness to the world she lived in. Although cancer took her sooner than expected, her influence will live on for many years to come.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, December 18, 2025 at the Val Verda Stake Center, 2651 South 500 West, Bountiful, Utah. A viewing will be held Wednesday evening from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful and Thursday morning 9:45-10:45 a.m at the church prior to services.

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