Barbara Jill Hollingshaus

Obituary

1956 - 2021

Our shining star, Barbara Jill Hollingshaus, completed her journey on earth August 21, 2021 after suffering from cancer.

Almost 65 years ago on October 19, 1956, Jill joined a family of four older siblings who were blessed with remarkable parents. Losing her mother at age eight to cancer, Jill was thrilled to welcome a new mother who provided much love for her, three sisters and one brother, and provided three new brothers to the family as each came into the world. Her parents provided a strong foundation of faith in God and hard work mixed in with recreation when the chores were done. Following the steps of her father, Jill loved fishing!

At age 36, Jill began a journal, sharing her life’s experiences. She described herself in her early teenage years as “very popular at school, top athlete and violin player, cheerleader, student body officer and then the bottom fell out.” Serious depression and mental heath issues began to surface and intensified as she graduated from high school and started working at Garfield School for special needs children followed by other miscellaneous jobs. Somehow she persevered and made it through several decades of extreme challenges. But Jill was a survivor! With the help of newly developed medication, dedicated therapists, supportive friends and family, Jill began to thrive. As her health issues stabilized with medication, she started working at Valley Services. She worked there for nearly 20 years in custodial work, often in supervisory positions, and received the 1997 Employee of the Year and the Governor’s Golden Key Ace Award in 2006. She also served on the Valley Mental Health Board as a recovered client, another area where she was recognized for her valuable insights.

In a television interview for KUED, Jill compared her experience to a Polaroid camera print that is “black, but as time goes on, it gets brighter and brighter until it’s full-blown color. When I got on the right meds, all of a sudden wow, those are pretty flowers! They’re pink or yellow daffodils. Wow the trees are starting to bud! The leaves on the trees look beautiful in the fall when there’s different colors.” When she was asked to define recovery, she answered, “Wonderful, content, happy, grateful, humble, caring, empathetic, sympathetic, compassionate. Compassionate - it’s my favorite word. I pray every day that I’m compassionate to people. And that’s the way I want to be known.” Even though she worried about being good enough, we had to remind her that compassion was one of the most important qualities of Jesus Christ. She wrote in her journal “Life is worth living and now maybe I can make a difference in the lives of the mentally ill.” And she accomplished that goal big time!

She miraculously was notified of a job as a Certified Peer Specialist and initially worked in a call center and small bed facility related to the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (formerly UNI). When the facility closed, she transferred to a call center called the “UNI Crisis Warm line,” answering many calls each night from individuals who needed a listening ear. Jill blessed thousands of individuals as they shared their mental health challenges she had experienced herself while assessing if someone needed additional professional care. Jill had an innate ability to accept and love individuals for who they were.

Jill loved her coworkers and deeply missed their association as she fought cancer and other health issues for the last two years of her life, desperately wanting to continue working even when her strength began to fail.

Jill was so excited to have her own apartment and eventually purchased her own condo and took pride in being independent with the ability to take care of herself. She loved her cats who were her cherished companions. The walls of her home were decorated with photos of her family, awards, and uplifting thoughts. Angel statues adorned her furniture shelves. Jill herself was an angel to many, concerned about others and spending many hours making personalized gifts for Christmas and birthdays. Her positive attitude was second to none and her unique perspectives and humor made us laugh! She continuously expressed gratitude for others and felt truly blessed.

Jill also believed in miracles. As life went on, she was determined to make some changes in her life that allowed her to enter the Temple, something she desired with all her heart and loved to do with her sisters on a regular basis. In order to do that, she received Priesthood blessings and stopped smoking cold turkey after trying for decades, feeling prompted that her dad on the other side wanted her to try one more time. As her life was ending, she had the assurance that deceased family members were eagerly waiting to greet her. What a reunion that must have been. While we will deeply miss her, we are excited that she is with family in heaven and she will be another angel watching over her family on earth. Her light is shining even brighter from above.

Although you have likely already heard these cherished words again - along with a big hug, in the words of your father, Jill, we love you a whole...........................................................bunch!

We thank Sandy Woodruff for her care of Jill during her last few weeks on earth to allow her to find comfort in the home she loved. Jill is survived by her sisters, Kathie Woodruff, Mary Ann Kirk (David), Brenda Huish (Mark) and brothers Paul (Melissa), Danny, and Ben Hollingshaus (Richard) and sister-in-law Pat Hollingshaus. She was greeted in heaven by her father John Hollingshaus, mothers Barbara Jeanne Meakin and Janice Brown, brother Gary Hollingshaus and sister-in-law Abby along with grandparents and a host of extended family.

Funeral services and viewings will be held at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Chapel (3401 Highland Dr). Viewings will be held Friday, Aug 27 from 6-8 pm and Saturday, Aug 28 from 9:30-10:45 am. The funeral will be held on Saturday, August 28 at 11 am. Internment will follow directly after the services in the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. Jill was happy to be buried by her brother Gary. Due to the current Covid 19 infection rates, we respectfully ask friends and family to wear masks.

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https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/millcreek-ut/barbara-jill-hollingshaus-10317262