Ryan Emmett Tibbitts

Click below to listen to the funeral service. Available until September 26, 2016.

Our beloved father, brother, husband, and friend passed away early in the morning on Thursday June 23rd due to post operation complications. He had been suffering from cancer and left this world painlessly, and surrounded by his loving family. Rarely do we encounter someone who is adored by everyone they meet, he was one of those special people. We’ll miss our cowboy, but we know he is with our Lord and our Heavenly Father and is finally free from the pain of his mortal body.

Ryan was born on March 12, 1956 where he and his family lived on a modest ranch in Challis, Idaho. Little Ryan could rarely be seen without holding some sort of animal in his arms. A few years after his father passed away the family migrated to the small city of Rexburg where he was raised. From a young age, Ryan loved sports. He taught himself every sport he had even a slight desire to play. He was a decorated athlete throughout high school, starting varsity in Basketball and Football. He graduated from Madison High School in 1974 and decided to serve an LDS mission. He was called to serve in Seoul Korea where he served two years as a diligent and loving missionary. When he returned home he continued his education, receiving his degree from Ricks College in Rexburg. He then transferred to BYU Provo. He walked on to the BYU football team where he made many lifelong friends. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance before being accepted to the J. Reuben Clark Law School where he received his Juris Doctorate in 1984. Ryan married his sweetheart Nan in 1989, they moved to Park City to live in the mountains where Ryan felt most at home. He was still an accomplished attorney and a valued colleague. He served as president of the prestigious law firm Snow, Christiansen, and Martineau where he was instrumental in settling a lawsuit against Microsoft; one of the most famous cases in Utah history. He then elected to practice law privately in order to spend more time with his wife and their five loving children, three sons and two daughters. His was most recently employed with Qualtrics, LLC. Ryan loved this company and his friends there who worked with him. He gave his heart and soul to his work, despite his failing health. Ryan authored the best-selling sports biography, Hail Mary. He recounts the true story of the 1980 BYU Miracle Bowl and the life lessons learned through that experience. What brought Ryan the most joy in life was to spend time with his family outdoors. Teaching them sports, walking their dog, or camping. He was and is a devoted father who gave everything he had to make his family happy and provide them with opportunities to challenge themselves and grow. Over the years, Ryan has served in many religious capacities within the LDS church, most notably, Bishop of the East Canyon Creek Ward in Park City, Utah. He was a humble and faithful servant of his ward members and the Lord. Ryan was exceptional because of his unconditional love for his faith. He was the most Christ-like individual many of us were lucky to know. In Ryan’s final goodbye to his family, he asked them to heed by our Prophet President Thomas S. Monson’s counsel to always choose the harder right over the easier wrong. Make it count.

Survived by his wife, Nan; five children: Dillon, Darian Tibbitts-Smythe (Taylor), Bailey, Sawyer, and McCoy; 1 brother, 4 sisters; Preceded in death by his parents, 1 brother and 1 sister.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, June 28 at 1:00pm at the LDS Park City Stake Center, 2300 Monitor Drive, where friends and family may visit at the church on Monday evening, June 27, 2016 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and also on Tuesday from 11:00am to 12:30pm prior to the services. Interment: Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. Online tributes and memories can be shared with the family at: www.HolbrookMortuary.com