Taylor Brian Pettit

Taylor Brian Pettit was born on October 30, 2002, at a robust 9 lbs. 14 oz in Salt Lake City, Utah. He ended his life on March 19, 2026, in Salt Lake City, Utah leaving behind his grieving family: Father Mark Louis Pettit, Mother Rebecca Young Pettit, Brothers Aaron Scott Pettit and Jared Mark Pettit, and numerous grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Taylor was a sensitive soul and gave the best hugs.

The chemist in him came out in spades when he cooked. Breads were his specialty: sourdough, challah, focaccia, rolls. His steaks were custom cooked to doneness with thyme, butter and Himalayan salt. He had to replace two thermometers and one KitchenAid mixer making melt-in-your-mouth fudge bi-weekly throughout the winter. He loved experimenting with food, and we were all happy to be taste testers.

Taylor began his musical journey on the piano from age 6 to 14, then started with his Uncle Andrew’s alto sax at age 10, then picked up the clarinet and finally the tenor sax, which was his favorite. He was thrilled to be able to join Olympus High School’s jazz band as a freshman at Evergreen Jr. High and thrived playing with a group of like-minded musicians. He soloed several times on tenor sax in competitions and performances.

Taylor’s words from his Science Sterling Scholar application: “One unique aspect about me is how I am an instrumental musician while also being interested in science. My background in music helps me because I have learned how to be persistent with my practicing. Science is not about instant results but is about a series of results discovered from many tests. As Beethoven said so long ago, “Don’t only practice your art; but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine.””

Taylor loved Science Fairs! He took first place in 3rd through 6th grades at Rosecrest Elementary and 4th place at the Salt Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair in 2014 in Chemistry. He was hooked at an early age. He was selected as Olympus High School’s Science Sterling Scholar in 2020-2021.

Taylor’s words: “Becoming more involved in science throughout high school has led me to a better understanding of how to learn. There is nothing which a thorough application of the scientific method cannot explain. It may not be easy to explain, but it is this difficulty which drives people to discover.”

Taylor liked camping with his family and participated in the Boy Scouts of America for a time. Taylor built a few Cub Scout Pinewood Derby cars where he continued a family tradition of winning. He actually had a car so fast his last year he chose to pull it from regular competition to let other kids do better. He was generous and wanted others to feel good. He discovered “van camping” was the bomb and went on his own to Dead Horse Point and the lava fields in Idaho as well as the Valley of the Gods in Colorado and Moab on his way home from Lincoln, Nebraska.

In high school he took American Sign Language for two years so he could communicate with his grandparents better. He got so good! He learned to ski at Deer Valley with his brothers and became Mark’s ski buddy throughout high school. He really loved roller coasters! His favorite ones were at Busch Gardens in Virginia. He experienced the variety of city (San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, Munich) versus country (Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Oregon Coast) vacations and liked both.

While at the U of U he was President of the Hydroponics Club for 2 years. We had an ongoing supply of fresh lettuce and herbs brought home to our delight. He grew daisies there and transplanted them in our yard. Each summer he was attending his internships I sent him pictures of them blooming so he could see the fruits of his labors.

Taylor was not one to toot his own horn and many times flew under the radar. His list of accomplishments is impressive for one so young and I am so proud to share most of them with you here:

Achieved first place in Rosecrest Elementary’s science fairs four years in a row, 2012-2015.

Received fourth place in the Salt Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair of 2014 in Chemistry.

1st place 2013 National Geographic Bee.

Honorable Mention in the “Tech Revolution Essay Contest” 2017 from Stossel in the Classroom. One of 75 winners out of 3000+ entries in this national contest.

Freedom Leadership Award recipient in 2018 from Kiwanis International.

President of Evergreen Jr. High’s chapter of the Technology Student Association (TSA) in 2018.

2nd place winner at the 2018 State TSA Conference in the Tech Bowl category, and 3rd place in the Electrical Applications category.

Taylor’s words: “My decision to be a part of TSA my freshman year was the best way for me to learn about leadership. Firsthand experience is a great way to learn about what it means to be a leader including experiencing mistakes and errors. Books and classes can help you to prepare for eventualities, but all that knowledge can fade away the moment you need it most. Being a leader is just as much learning as leading.”

Evergreen Eagle Honor Society for Citizenship and Academic Excellence 2016, 2017, 2018

Weber State University Art and Science of Technology Certificate of Completion 2018

Olympus High School Jazz Band saxophone section leader and soloist at Region Jazz Festival 2020.

ACT Composite Score of 33. Math: 31, English: 29, Reading: 35, Science: 36. He only took the ACT one time!

AP Scholar with Distinction Award for achieving an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken on five or more exams:

Human Geography (4), World History (3), Computer Science Principles (5), Chemistry (4), Calculus BC (5), Psychology (5), Biology (5) and Physics-Mechanics (5)

Completed Chemistry 1060 at the University of Utah (after his sophomore year in high school) with an A grade and received 8 U of U credits. Was recognized as one of six students in the course as having the best mentality towards learning chemistry.

Completed the AP Chemistry associated laboratory courses at the University of Utah and received 2 credits.

Completed Calculus III (Math 2210) and Linear Algebra (Math 2270) at the University of Utah with A grades during his senior year while concurrently taking high school classes, earning 4 credits.

Selected as Science Sterling Scholar 2020-2021 for Olympus High School.

Graduated from Olympus High School in 2021with a 3.9 GPA.

Awarded a four-year full tuition Flagship Scholarship to the University of Utah.

Little known fact: Taylor applied to the U of U and BYU. Was accepted by both. Only applied to BYU so he could turn them down. So embarrassing for his mother!

Accepted and attended a Chemistry and Physics internship at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln the summer of 2023.

Applied for, received an invitation to and attended a prestigious Chemistry internship at Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany the summer of 2024. He enjoyed exploring Berlin, Hamburg and Hannover while there.

He did this much to his father’s pride, without any German language experience. Still, he bravely functioned well, even correcting his dad’s pronunciation of words like “Dönner”.

The University of Utah is posthumously awarding Taylor a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in April 2026. He would have graduated Cum Laude with a GPA of 3.625.  

Some of his classes included Bowling, Survey of Jazz, Organic Chemistry (his favorite!), Biochemistry, Thermodynamics and Kinetics, Quantum Chemistry, Differential Equations and P-chem.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Taylor in our lives. We are heartened by knowing he is now surrounded by loved ones and the Savior helping him heal from his struggles and mental illness. His potential is eternal and our family is forever!

A memorial service will be held at Holladay-Cottonwood Mortuary on Friday, April 10, 2026, at 4:00pm, with a visitation held at 3:00pm. Inurnment will be at Wasatch Lawn’s Cremation Garden.