Kay Harris Traveller

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kay Harris Traveller on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, from Parkinson’s Disease.

Kay Harris Traveller was born the fourth child to Mardene Harris and Ariel Cornelius Traveller on April 13, 1936, in Logan, Utah. However, Richmond, Utah, was the town he called home. It is well known among his siblings that he really loved his mother and cherished her. In his youth, Kay worked on the family farm- bucking hay, plowing fields by horse and then tractor, and milking cows. He also worked in a sharecropper field pulling sugar beets.

He was a natural born athlete and lifelong sports fan. In high school he especially excelled at football and baseball. His senior year of high school he was awarded the Parson Award for baseball, basketball, track and field, and football as athlete of the year. He lettered in every sport offered in school.

In 1971, Kay came to St. George unemployed looking for work. After a week of no success, as he was about to leave town, he was hired by a road crew that was working on Bluff Street, the I-15 cut by Foremaster Ridge, and the Airport Road.

Seeing opportunity in St. George because of its growing popularity as a retirement destination, in 1971, with his partner Robin Hansen, Kay broke ground on his first townhouse (the first townhouse ever sold in St. George) and never looked back. Since then, Kay has built commercial projects and hundreds of quality homes at the following locations: Temple Townhouse, Temple Townhouse East, Sunrise Village, Rimstone Village, The Ridge, The Vintage, The Legacy, The Pinnacle (and others in Mesquite), and Stone Cliff.

In 1978, Kay married Jana Bentley and started a 44-year partnership that saw two sons, Kason and Kolby, and a daughter, Kalea, and many good times and memories. Kay was a loving and kind husband and father. He always worked hard to provide the best for his family as well as leading his children by example. Being a man of few words, Kay’s actions were his main teaching tool.

Kay was a founding member of Dixie Title Company and Washington Savings and Loan in St. George. He sat on various boards of businesses and charities including being involved with the American Cancer Society Golf Tournament for many years. Kay donated time and money to many worthy causes and individuals in need.

Kay always loved the dirt work portion of developing the most. He had a real talent for laying out a development and making the most of a piece of raw land. At Stone Cliff, Kay oversaw all engineering and made the very most of the views available there.

Kay was also an innovator. In 2001, with help from his partners at Utah Interlinx, Kay brought the first fully redundant fiber optic network to St. George solving a problem that had plagued businesses here for years. This also allowed SkyWest Airlines to keep their headquarters in St. George. Interlinx ran hundreds of miles of fiber throughout Washington and Iron counties.

In 2008, Kay also opened the first Utah colocation data center south of Provo. The Tonaquint Data Center offers technology companies more options in the region serving as both a colocation and disaster recovery center for more than 300 businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies. In 2020 he also acquired the Fiberpipe Data Center in Boise, Idaho.

Kay loved working with and helping others. He was a fantastic mentor to many up-and-coming business people. He loved sharing his knowledge and experience with them, guiding them, and learning from them as well. Kay was a master teambuilder. He always surrounded himself with the best, smartest, nicest, and hardest working people both in business and in his personal life. Because of his innovation and hard work Kay earned many industry awards in real estate and technology.

Kay lived up to his surname. He was a world Traveller. Along with his family he took many special vacations to Hawaii, Disneyland, Alaska and Canada, Europe, French Polynesia, Central and South America, and Oceania. Kay and Jana especially enjoyed going on cruises together having cruised more than 20 times.

Kay is preceded in death by his Father (Ariel Cornelius), Mother (Mardene) , Father-In-Law (Kent Bentley), Mother-In-Law (Maxine Bentley), eldest brother Marvin (Gerri Hansen), sister Luann (Dell Tripp), sister-In-law Jenis Hillyard (Marvin), brother-In-law Morris Hillyard (Nancy), brother-In-law Dell Tripp (Luann), and sister-In-law Charlene Hughes (Bart).

He is survived by his wife Jana, son Kason (Brittnie Jensen) granddaughters Preslie and Payton, son Kolby (Naomi Miller), granddaughters Emery and Hazel, daughter Kalea, sister Nancy (Morris Hillyard), brother Bart, brother Seth (Gaylene Halverson), and brother Kenneth (Jeanie Lynch).

The family wants to thank Kelleen Jones, Brandi Higgins, and Hailei Stewart for their love and service to Kay in the past 2 years which allowed Kay to do the things he wanted to do in his final days. Thank you as well to Zion’s Way Hospice.

The family will meet with friends, Sunday, January 22, 2023, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm, at Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 South Bluff Street, St. George, Utah, and again on Monday, January 23, 2023, from 10:00 - 11:30 am, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George Stake Center, 500 North Bluff Street, St. George, Utah. The funeral services will begin at noon at the Stake Center.

Family and friend who are unable to attend are invited to view the funeral service online by clicking on the link below.

https://youtu.be/4HZobBOgdR0

Following the funeral, interment will be in the Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 South Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah.

Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S Bluff Street, St. George, Utah. 435-673-2454. Family and friends are invited to leave a memory on Kay’s obituary page at www.spilsburymortuary.com