In Memoriam

In Memoriam JAY M. HAYMOND

October 11, 1933 - January 12, 2013

Jay Melvin Haymond was born October 11, 1933. I would make his acquaintance at Brigham Young University in 1964, where he was pursuing a Master’s Degree in Political Science and History. In 1965 we both accepted positions at Dixie College in St. George, Utah. The college had recently moved to its new campus. We shared an office, he teaching both political science and history classes. He was faculty sponsor for the “Young Republicans”; I for the “Young Democrats” who numbered about one-fourth of the group he enjoyed.

We both left Dixie College in 1969; Jay to pursue his Ph.D. in history at the University of Utah, and I as “historic preservation officer” at the Utah State Historical Society. In August 1971, I was appointed Director, Utah State Historical Society, and Jay was completing his Ph.D. work.

John James, former librarian at the Society had resigned for health reasons, which allowed us to offer Dr. Haymond that job at the Society. Replacing John James was a major challenge for anyone, but librarian Jay would be asked within a few years to move the Society and its library treasures to new facilities, since Governor Scott Matheson and First Lady Norma chose to re-occupy the Kearns Mansion as the Governor’s residence.

The first move in 1978 was to the Crane Building located at 200 South and 300 West while the Denver and Rio Grande Depot was being renovated as the new and current home for the Utah State Historical Society. Again, Jay directed and managed the transfer of the many historical materials to the new location and put the new library facilities in top shape to serve the public and scholars.

Jay had a larger vision for his and the library’s role at the Society, which included collecting documents, expanding service, the education of those who would use the library, and giving greater attention to history groups and organizations throughout the state. To assist in that mission, Jay set up an “Oral History Program,” which interviewed hundreds of people so that their histories would be preserved and made accessible.

Secondly, he organized the state’s Geographic and Place Names Association, which collected data and educated the public and historians about that facet of Utah history. He would also help organize the Intermountain Archivists Association, which provided education services for the professional care and use of their documents, and for making them readily available to researchers who used these repositories. He helped organize the Utah Historic Trails Consortium to help understand, interpret, and preserve the trails that have been important in Utah’s past.

Jay’s penchant for marshaling all of the Utah history resources he could led him to move forward in organizing the Association of Utah Historians consisting of the staff at the Historical Society, public school teachers teaching Utah history, and professional historians at the various colleges, universities, and organizations in the state. Direct dividends of these organizational efforts were extensive. First off, with the celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976, Jay worked to secure the selection of Charles S. Peterson as the author of the Utah volume in the States and the Nation Series prepared under the direction of the American Association for State and Local History. With the Utah Statehood Centennial Celebration in 1996, Jay directed the compilation and publication of Utah: The Right Place, a one-volume history of Utah written by Thomas G. Alexander. It was his vision and involvement that led to the compilation of the twenty-nine volume Utah Centennial County History series as an important legacy of Utah’s centennial celebration in honor of Utah becoming the forty-fifth state.

Jay was also given administrative assignments as acting director of the Society in 1985 and 1986. His tenure at the Society came to an end with his retirement in 1998. He faced the long-term challenges of type I diabetes. He apprised colleagues of possible symptoms of troubles, but in my more than twenty years of working with him, only once did we need to intervene, using information he made certain we had been given. Jay was a mentor to younger members of the staff by encouraging them to further their research and study of Utah history. He believed that every community and group should actively engage its history with the best tools and resources available.

Upon retirement, Jay and his wife Pat continued to live in Salt Lake City; however, when their daughter Lise and her husband Mark Hansen moved to Illinois, they chose to follow. Pat died in 2003. Jay moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and then to Boise, Idaho, choosing to remain close to family.

Jay died January 12, 2013, at age seventy-nine. He touched the lives of us who knew him personally. His integrity was always evident. His services to Utah history, and to the Utah State Historical Society are without peer. We thank you Dr. Jay M. Haymond on both counts.

Melvin T. Smith Former Director,

Utah State Historical Society