Thomas Beatty Hirschi

Thomas Beatty Hirschi passed away on August 23, 2021, at his home in Hurricane. Tommy was born on June 18, 1944, in Long Beach, California to Merlin C. & Lola Beatty Hirschi, both of whom were from the Hurricane area. Tom and his older sister Barbara returned to Hurricane with his mother when his father went to Japan with the Army during WWII. His father returned when he was discharged following the war. His grandfathers helped to build the Hurricane Canal that brought water onto the Hurricane bench. Tom’s father Merlin was killed in a tragic accident in 1955 when he was just 10 years old. Lacking a father’s companionship and guidance made for a rather rambunctious adolescence but he didn’t stray from his core values. He had many role models that made a big difference in his life at this time including Richard Lee, Keith Tobler, coaches James Robertson and Don Lay, Jack Lemmon and later Marlin Gifford.

Tom played football and baseball through his junior year, basketball his freshmen & Sophomore years and wrestled his junior year. His senior year he stopped playing sports to work at Lemmon’s Phillips 66 to help give support to his father-less family. He did play doubles in tennis his senior year with a good friend Wes Cannon.

Shortly after graduating from HHS Tom married Kaye Wright, daughter of Cal & Zona Wright, and they lived in Hurricane, Springdale, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City from 1965-1976. While in Salt Lake City Tom experienced a mighty change of heart and became active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shortly after returning to Hurricane Tom and Kaye were sealed in the St. George temple with their oldest five children. They returned to Hurricane so Tom could intern for Keith Tobler as the town barber. They eventually had eight children.

Tom resumed coaching little league baseball in 1977. In 1978 he was one of the founders of the Hurricane Little league football where he also coached for many years. He began driving bus for Washington County School District in 1981 to supplement his barber income to support his growing family. He has driven thousands of elementary, intermediate, middle school and high school students hundreds of thousands of miles in his bus. He remembered most of them by name and could recite their genealogy as they said hello to him throughout the community. He not only drove the activity bus for HHS which ended after 7 pm each weeknight but he also drove many of the sports and other activities on out-of-town events for 31 years until he retired in 2011. He announced the varsity football and basketball games at HHS for many years. During the late 1980’s and 1990’s he served on the City Planning Commission, the Washington County Fair Board which was still held in downtown Hurricane and the Peach Day’s committee for the last 21 years.

Following a valiant 20-year battle with Lupus Kaye passed away Feb. 20, 2000. Shortly thereafter Tom married Kitty Marie Payton Campbell on Oct. 4, 2000. They have spent the last 21 years loving and taking great care of each other and traveling the western United States while visiting children and grandchildren. Both Kaye and Kitty were great supports to Tom’s civic service. Tom was elected to the City Council in 2000 and then served three terms as Hurricane City Mayor from 2002-2014. While Mayor he served on the Washington County Water Conservancy Board for 9 years and as Chairman of the Washington County Mayor association for 12 years. One of the great legacies that he will be known for while serving as Mayor is when he called one of his boyhood hero’s Jimmy Judd, who was the catcher on the 1956 state championship team, to ask him to donate money for lights for the new HHS baseball and softball fields.

In 2014-15 Tom and Kitty served two consecutive summers as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Rapid City South Dakota Mission assigned to Willies Sixth Crossing. Returning from their second summer Tom had open heart surgery and has been on dialysis for the last six years. Tom retired from barbering in 2018 choosing to spend his time supporting family and working on his family ranch of seven generations at the Big Plains with his uncle Waldo Hirschi, his brother Richard, his cousins Van Kleinman and Doug Hirschi, his sons and grandchildren. Tom served actively in various callings and responsibilities in the Church, most recently at the Hurricane Valley Family History Center and as Assistant Stake Historian.

Tom is survived by his wife Kitty, his eight children and her five children and their spouses: David (Dixie) Hirschi, Michael (Kristine) Hirschi, Toni (Derek Imlay), Steven (Julie) Hirschi, Amanda (Jeff Borden), Richard (Sara) Hirschi, Natalie (Dusty Jacobsen), Matthew (Nannette) Hirschi, Jason (Jana) Campbell, Jenny (Joel Vossler), Clay (Gail) Campbell, Hannah (Kris Ripplinger) and Flint Campbell, siblings Richard (Ruth) Hirschi and Paula Hirschi Arriola, mother in-law Avon Payton. Tom and Kitty have 59.67 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents Merlin C. Hirschi, Lola Beatty Hirschi Campbell, stepfather Keith M. Campbell, his in-laws Calvin and Zona Wright, his first wife of 35 years Kaye Wright, two sisters Barbara Spendlove and Vera Hirschi and in-laws Rondo and Kathy Wright and Kelly Dutton.

There will be visitation on Friday, August 27, 2021, 5:00 – 8:00 pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hurricane Utah Stake, 650 S 700 W, Hurricane, Utah.

A second visitation will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2021, 9:30 – 10:30 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hurricane Utah Stake, 650 S 700 W, Hurricane, Utah.

The Funeral service will be on Saturday, August 28, 2021, 11:00 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hurricane Utah Stake, 650 S 700 W, Hurricane, Utah.

Interment will be in the Hurricane City Cemetery.

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 sign Thomas’s online guest book at www.spilsburymortuary.com