Amasa Mason Redd

Mason Redd used to commonly say, “After a certain age, if you get a chance to die—you take it.” His last few years this belief had been forgotten—but October 10, 2025, after 93 very full years, Mason got the chance and he took it. Clothing Mason’s precious, no-longer-needed body were a button-up shirt, leather belt, quality pants and fine socks. He was fully outfitted in rarely used relics of a proud past: a Mont Blanc pen in his chest pocket, a Swiss watch on his left wrist, and in his pants pockets a large set of keys and a full leather wallet. Mason’s important and missing items were from times further past—his phone, a small steel comb, and a Swiss army knife used mostly for carefully manicuring his well-groomed fingernails and those of any child lucky enough to sit next to him in church. Tucked inside his wallet was an organized history of a life dating back decades—including a paper Social Security card issued from the San Juan Farmer’s Co-op, his teenage job working in his father’s store. Precious, no-longer-needed items on a precious, no-longer-needed body.

Amasa Mason Redd was born May 24, 1932, and grew up in Monticello, Utah, at the base of Blue Mountain. His parents were legendary sorts—his father, A. Jay Redd, was a handsome, successful rancher and businessman; his mother, Marie, was kind and beautiful—his adored “little mother.” He had attractive, successful siblings and spoke of his older brother Wyman as if he were a movie star. Mason talked about his early life with the same kind of pride he took in dressing and caring for himself. To hear him tell it, there was no better life, childhood or family. (Of course there were trials—he would tell about his ineptitude at sports, like the baseball game where he was all three outs in one inning; a circumcision/tonsillectomy at age five at the elementary school; and the worst—a year-long bout of polio at St. Mark’s in Salt Lake City that left him struggling to catch up in school and prove his smarts—something he often said he said he was still trying to do.) Mason’s pride in his history, his Redd name, and his red rock landscape earned him the nickname “The Prince of San Juan” for San Juan County. His adult children called him the nickname in jest, and he endearingly accepted it as his birthright and clear truth.

Never feeling like a rancher or businessman, Mason left his beloved Monticello and went north for higher education, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from BYU and his medical degree in psychiatry from the University of Utah. During his undergraduate years, he joined the Army and served two years in Korea as a photo interpreter, followed by nearly three years in Switzerland as a missionary. Most importantly, at BYU Mason met Karen Jarman from Berkeley—his “soft, brown-skinned girl with hair to die for.”

Prior to his last few years of struggling to remember passcodes or operate a cell phone without being swindled, Mason was as sharp as a tack and used those well-manicured hands and that critical, thoughtful brain to accomplish more than most. Dr. Redd had a lengthy career as a psychiatrist working for LDS Hospital, the University of Utah at UNI, and finally for the LDS Church as a consultant and senior missionary in Japan. He fully retired late in his 80’s. Mason never understood boredom, was thoroughly modern, and ahead of his time on many trends.
He was an accomplished photographer with an in-home darkroom and many prized cameras. He catalogued his family in photos, and Christmas mornings included studio lighting. Mason was a skilled sailor and had one of the very first sailboats on the Great Salt Lake. He was also a capable woodworker—making black powder muskets, guitars, cabinets, and carvings. Mason was a cook and a gardener, baking artisanal pizzas (with homegrown Roma tomatoes and carefully snipped basil) and crusty breads long before those trends began. He loved bows and arrows, kites, and anything new, interesting or of quality. Mason was an early adopter of technology—one of the first with a cell phone, Bluetooth, surround sound, videos, and movies. When asked what his favorite age was—Mason said he loved the time when he could pack up all his kids in a station wagon and go on an adventure. He’d buy mountain bikes for the family for a red rock trek or an alpine climb to see wildflowers, finishing with a stay at the Alta lodge— complete with chocolate soufflé for dessert. How about a loop around the bird sanctuary? Check out the oldest bristlecone pine? Hike to a petroglyph? He was always up for adventure, for spending money, or for doing something. He would say “Well, why not?”

Mason leaves behind his beloved wife of 66 years, Karen Jarman Redd, along with seven children: Wendy (Scott Smith), Melanie (Lloyd Mayer), Mike (Jody Rosenblatt), Alan (Geeta Tiwari), Carolyn (Evan Smith), Kathryn (Jim Tripp) and Jonathan (Hillary Stephenson) and their families including 20 grandchildren and many ever-increasing great-grandchildren. Mason is also survived by his brother, Jay Whitney Redd, along with his family and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be November 1 at 11:00 a.m at the Valley View Chapel on 2000 East and 3900 South in Salt Lake City, Utah. Burial will follow at the Monticello Cemetery on November 3 at 11:00 a.m. Arrangements by Wasatch Lawn Mortuary.

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