Jan (Graci) Tribble died peacefully at the Canyonlands Care Center on October 13, 2022.
Jan was born on February 28, 1953, in Atlanta, Georgia, but she grew up in many different places back east. As an adult, she lived in New Orleans for many years and worked in personnel at Tulane University. Jan earned a master’s degree in early childhood education and was an early childhood educator and teacher trainer. Jan was happily married for 10 years and enjoyed many opportunities to travel both in the U.S. and overseas with her husband.
In 1994, Jan felt an urge to visit Utah and ‘destiny,’ in the form of a bookstore owner in Blanding, brought her to Moab. Their conversation brought up the differences in culture and geographics in northern Utah and how Jan might find the community and country she was looking for in Moab. Like many people visiting Moab, she found she wanted to stay. She worked for the National Park Service and in outdoor education.
Jan left Moab when her mother passed away in the late 1990s, returned to Moab and then went to Houston, Texas, for 3 years to take care of her father until he passed.
Jan loved to travel the backroads of the southwestern United States. She lived in Capitan, New Mexico, for 4 years and volunteered at the local library.
For the past 15 years, Jan used Moab as a home base while continuing to travel and being a valued friend, housesitter and petsitter for many families. She volunteered at several businesses in town including StarShine Gifts, Sgt. Pepper’s Music & Video, ABC & Beyond Books and the Grand County Public Library.
Jan was known by her friends in Moab as an incredible free spirit, not tied down by society’s usual expectations or definitions. This also translated into her love of traveling and experiencing nature and the land in all its wildness and uniqueness.
She is survived by her dearly loved brother, Phil, and his wife, Cathy, of Kinderhook, New York; as well as their children, Todd, Taylor and Rheri; and their children, who live in the area.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Canyonlands Care Center for providing exceptional loving care.
Donations in her memory can be given to the St. Francis Episcopal Food Pantry in Moab by calling 435-259-5831. Details for a memorial will be announced at a later date.
“When I got to New Mexico, that was mine. As soon as I saw it, that was my country. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it fitted to me exactly. It’s something that’s in the air – it’s different. The sky is different, the wind is different” – Georgia O’Keeffe
