Meri Jo Smith McComb

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful mother, Meri Jo (Smith) McComb, who passed away peacefully in the early hours of November 6, 2025.

Meri Jo was born to Louis J. Smith and Dorothy (Warner) Smith on April 8, 1963. She spent her childhood in Sandy, Utah, attending Sandy Elementary, Mount Jordan Middle School, and Jordan High School. She loved to camp and fish with her dad, play Barbies with her dear friend, Robyn, play the piano, and tease her older brother, Tom.

Meri Jo married John McComb in 1983. During their 21 year marriage, they welcomed and raised three children, Aimee, Mandy, and Erik. Meri Jo was a warm and loving mother, who understood each of her children and how best to support and guide them. They could always count on her to answer difficult questions, to have open conversations, and to help them see their own capabilities. Because of her example, they learned self-reliance and resilience.

She also encouraged in them a sense of adventure and curiosity, taking them on “field trips” around the state during Utah’s bicentennial and on road trips to Disneyland. That love of travel continued throughout her life. There was never an adventure she wasn’t up for, whether that be on dirt roads to out-of-the-way National Park sites, moving for a year to Puerto Rico, or adventuring to Swiss glaciers. Meri Jo loved life and experiencing all that the world had to offer.

Meri Jo was an accomplished seamstress, who made beautiful Halloween costumes that continue to be used and treasured by her children and grandchildren. Throughout her life, her sewing machine was never far away, as she made children’s clothing, wedding dresses, and tailored clothing for her friends and family. For the past several years, she enjoyed participating in the Utah State Fair Wall-Hanging competition and won several ribbons in recognition of her beautiful applique work and creative designs.

Meri Jo was a dedicated educator who impacted the lives of thousands of Utah’s students for the last 30 years. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and went on to earn numerous certifications in mathematics. She spent the bulk of her teaching career at three schools: Challenger School in Sandy, Summit Academy in Draper, and Navigator Pointe Academy in West Jordan (2013-2025). Everywhere she taught, she brought kindness and light to the lives of her students, both in and out of the classroom. She inspired curiosity and a lifelong love of learning. Her classroom was a place of belonging, in which each child felt seen, valued, and encouraged to grow. Her influence will continue to be felt as her former students, many of whom are now adults, carry forward the values that she helped plant–kindness, perseverance, and a genuine desire to keep learning.

During the last 12 years of her life, she has been a dedicated grandma, whose joy in Henry, Atlas, Charlie, Max and Odin was endless. She treasured her time with them and was always willing to curl up and read stories, play games, and watch their favorite movies over and over again. She delighted in spoiling them and had a knack for finding just-right Christmas and birthday presents.

Meri Jo loved murder mysteries, movies, movie theater popcorn, concerts, plane rides, reading, puzzles, shopping trips, decorating for holidays, music, Disneyland, going out to eat, documentaries, Great Danes, gift-giving, collecting key chains, sewing, BBC dramas, road trips, her friends, and her family.

Meri Jo will be remembered always and will be deeply missed by those close to her. We will miss her beautiful piano playing. We will miss her baked goods, especially her eclairs and her delicious Christmas baking. We will miss her smile and her laugh and her love of all things Star Wars. We could not have asked for a better sister, mother, grandmother, and friend.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude for the nurses, doctors, and medical assistants at the University of Utah Hospital, especially those who cared for her during her last weeks in the ICU and hospice care. Your care for her and for her loved ones will never be forgotten.

Meri Jo was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Dorothy Smith. She is survived by her brother Thomas Smith (Michael Schwartz), daughter Aimee (James) Rohling, daughter Mandy (Christopher) Niles, son Erik (Sarah) McComb, and her grandsons Henry, Atlas, Charlie, Max, and Odin.

A Celebration of Life for her friends and family will be held at Canyon Peak Wedding and Events, 1442 Draper Parkway, Draper, Utah, on Thursday, November 13th from 6:00-8:00 pm. Interment at Sandy City Cemetery.