Gravesite of Utah's First Jedi Priest

Head Stone of the First Ordained Jedi in Utah BB79 (Atlas Obscura User)

In the sleepy little Valley View Memorial Park there is a treasure that is the first of its kind in Utah. There hidden in the southwest corner of the cemetery is an onyx-colored plaque in the ground that is hard to ignore. It reads Steven Allan Ford April 7, 1980-September 7, 2010—”MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU ALWAYS.”

This is not a gravesite of some overzealous fan, as it would seem, but indeed the resting place of someone remarkable: Steven Ford, the first ordained Jedi priest in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah.

A licensed minister of the Temple of the Jedi Order, Steve officiated over the first wedding performed by a Jedi Minister on September 5, 2008, when his brother Andrew Ford was married to Candis Forbes. The wedding appeared traditional to the regular bystander, with only one telltale sign: the lightsaber hanging from Steven’s hip.

Steven loved Star Wars and it had such an impact on is life that he began practicing Jediism in his later high school years. A little-known fact is that the Jedi religion is a mixture of Taoism and Buddhism. Steve was a natural peacemaker and these concepts appealed to his nature.

Sadly, tragedy struck when Steve fell ill of a broken heart. Jedi Reverend Steven Allan Ford took his own life on September 7, 2010. This left a disturbance in the force of his loved ones ever since.

Know Before You Go

Can be accessed by UTA bus (www.rideuta.com)Valley View Memorial Park and Funeral Home4335 West 4100 South, West Valley City, UT 84120 If you are taking a car or taxi it can be found by driving the 215 and exiting on 4100 S. Drive West until you pass 4000 W. It will be about three-quarters of a block away. If you reach 4400 W. then you have gone too far. Park by Lilac sign. Free app Billion Graves shows you exactly where gravestone is.Please be respectful and call the Valley View Memorial Park and Funeral Home for visiting hours.Ph. 801-969-1081