Utah Chaplains in the News – Utah Law Enforcement Chaplain Foundation

Utah news stories that mention a law enforcement chaplain, oldest first. This list has 337 stories from 1936 to 2026, including police, sheriff, jail, and prison chaplains. Each summary is our own short description; follow the link to read the original. This list is researched and compiled using Claude and could have errors.

This list is not complete. Many older items come from the Utah Digital Newspapers archive at the University of Utah, where some pages are scans without an indexed headline. Those are marked “page item,” and the link opens the newspaper page. If you know of a story we missed, please send it to us.

Jump to: 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s

1930s

May 19, 1936. Salt Lake Telegram, “Parole System to Rescue First Offenders Proposed”. Utah State Prison chaplain Rev. J.S. Keefe, also Catholic education superintendent, argues for parole reforms to keep first offenders from prison stigma.

1940s

August 17, 1941. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Reports the Salt Lake Ministerial Association’s appointment of Nazarene pastor Harold W. Gretzinger as chaplain to trusties at the Point of the Mountain prison.
February 5, 1943. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Prison chaplain Rev. J.P. Moreton accompanies condemned inmate Avery from death row to his execution at the Utah State Prison.
July 13, 1945. Salt Lake Telegram, “Utah Executes Roedl”. Execution report notes prison chaplain Rev. J.P. Moreton stood with deputies and the doctor as Roedl was executed by firing squad.
May 27, 1947. Salt Lake Telegram, “Eagles Honor Utah Chaplain”. The Eagles fraternal order honors Rev. Joseph P. Moreton, chaplain at the Utah State Prison.
December 25, 1948. Salt Lake Telegram, “Church Rites Only Solace on Bleak Prison Yule”. Christmas feature on prison life quotes Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton, Utah State Prison chaplain, about holiday church rites for inmates.

1950s

February 24, 1950. Sugar House Bulletin, “Introducing the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Moreton”. Profile of Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton, Utah State Prison chaplain, describing his path to the prison post and noting he was the first prison chaplain west of the Mississippi to attend the Institute of Catholic Chaplains.
March 12, 1951. Salt Lake Telegram, “Inmates Travel Light to Point Home; Even Canaries due New ‘Cages’”. Story on inmates’ move to the Point of the Mountain prison notes chaplain Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton was on hand to see them off.
September 10, 1951. Salt Lake Telegram, “Carbon Killer to Die Oct. 15”. Execution coverage quotes Msgr. Moreton, prison chaplain, on condemned killer Mares’s courage at the end.
September 12, 1951. Logan Herald Journal, page item. The veteran Utah State Prison chaplain recommends Utah abolish the firing squad as an execution method.
September 29, 1951. Deseret News, page item. Report on Gardner’s firing-squad execution at Utah State Prison says chaplain Rev. J.P. Moreton rushed to the side of the dying man and placed a hand on his head.
December 15, 1951. Salt Lake Telegram, “Gideons Offer Bibles to Utah Convicts”. Gideons present Bibles to prison chaplain Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton for placement in the Utah State Prison library and distribution to inmates.
August 28, 1953. Manti Messenger, “Stake M. I. A. Meet to Hear Prison Chaplain”. Announces that Ray Smith, chaplain at the Utah State Prison, will address a Manti stake MIA meeting.
April 7, 1955. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Chaplain Explains Shortcomings Of Death Penalty”. Utah State Prison chaplain Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton tells the Ogden Exchange Club mandatory life terms would serve better than capital punishment.
May 27, 1955. Midvale Journal Sentinel, “Midvale Pastor Ends 23 Years As Prison Chaplain”. Reports the resignation of Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton, Midvale pastor, after 23 years as Utah State Prison chaplain.
June 2, 1955. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Retiring Chaplain”. AP brief reports Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton retired as Utah State Prison chaplain after nearly 24 years, with a farewell party.
July 12, 1955. Provo Daily Herald, page item. UP brief: postal worker Ray F. Smith, LDS representative at Utah State Prison since 1949, is appointed part-time chaplain; prison will have two chaplains.
August 20, 1955. Deseret News, page item. Deseret News reports Utah State Prison has two chaplains for the first time, with Ray F. Smith appointed LDS chaplain.
August 21, 1955. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Notes appointment of Magna pastor Rev. Charles E. Freegard as the new Catholic chaplain for the Utah State Prison.
October 28, 1955. Garfield Leader, “Prison Board-Magna Priest Differ On Chaplain’s Duties”. Father Charles E. Freegard, Catholic prison chaplain, says he was astonished by his ‘supposed resignation’; he had told the board he would resign if a chaplain’s role were limited to services.
November 18, 1955. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Former Catholic prison chaplain Rev. Charles E. Freegard tells the Board of Corrections he will seek release of two tubercular inmates.
January 6, 1956. Deseret News, page item. Announces Rev. Thomas J. Meersman as the new Catholic prison chaplain, succeeding Rev. Charles Freegard.
May 11, 1956. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Front-page report notes prison chaplain Rev. Thomas J. Meersman heard confessions of two condemned men and gave them communion.
August 24, 1956. Mt. Pleasant Pyramid, “Prison Chaplain to Speaker at Moroni Conference”. Chaplain Ray Smith of the Utah State Prison is announced as speaker at a Moroni Stake conference session.
November 1, 1957. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Item on the planned Utah State Prison chapel quotes chaplains Ray F. Smith and Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu.
November 14, 1957. American Fork Citizen, page item. American Fork Community Club night will feature Utah State Prison chaplain Ray F. Smith as speaker.
December 4, 1957. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Drive launched to raise funds to complete the Utah State Prison chapel, which will house offices for the two prison chaplains; chaplain Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu was to meet church officials.
December 8, 1957. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Feature on the Utah State Prison chapel project notes the architects designed it free at prison chaplain Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu’s request.
May 26, 1958. Salt Lake Tribune, “Police Memorial Rite”. Utah State Prison chaplain Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu is scheduled to speak at the Police Mutual Aid Association’s annual memorial services.
June 7, 1958. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Ogden report on condemned inmate Kirkham says prison chaplains and guards gathered around him in the prison auditorium.
June 7, 1958. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Coverage of condemned inmate Kirkham’s final days mentions LDS prison chaplain Ray F. Smith and two Catholic priests.
June 19, 1958. Manti Messenger, “Prison Chaplain to Speak at Sunday Evening Services”. Announces LDS chaplain Ray F. Smith of the Utah State Prison as speaker at Sunday evening services in Manti.
June 20, 1958. Ephraim Enterprise, “Prison Chaplain to Speak at Sunday Evening Services”. Utah State Prison LDS chaplain Ray F. Smith will address the South Sanpete Stake conference evening session.
June 21, 1958. Deseret News, page item. Plans for the Utah State Prison chapel include office space for the prison chaplains.
December 1, 1958. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Utah State Prison chaplain Ray F. Smith will speak to an Optimist Club luncheon at the Hotel Utah.
December 6, 1958. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Jail Chaplain Will Speak”. Utah State Prison chaplain Ray F. Smith will speak at Wilson Lane Ward on public acceptance of released offenders.
December 19, 1958. Davis County Clipper, “Raise Money for Chapel”. Davis County seminary students raise money for a Utah State Prison chapel after a visit from prison chaplain Ray Smith inspired them.
December 27, 1958. Deseret News, page item. Photo caption shows Warden John Turner and prison chaplain Ray F. Smith receiving student contributions to the prison chapel fund.
January 26, 1959. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu, prison chaplain, announces a $400 gift to the Utah State Prison chapel fund.
June 3, 1959. Deseret News, page item. Grand jury coverage notes assistant prison chaplain Robert A. Gehring was among invited witnesses.
June 3, 1959. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. A former and present prison guard and two prison chaplains appear before a Salt Lake County grand jury probing the prison.
July 1, 1959. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Retired Utah State Prison chaplain Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton is among witnesses scheduled before a county grand jury.

1960s

February 5, 1960. Salt Lake Tribune, “Board Accepting Applicants for Prison Chaplain”. Reports the state is taking applications for a full-time chaplain at the Utah State Prison.
March 5, 1960. Salt Lake Tribune, “Prison Reports Naming Of Full-Time Chaplain”. Custodial officer Crozier K. Fitzgerald is named Utah State Prison’s first full-time chaplain; Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu stays as part-time Catholic chaplain.
March 30, 1960. Deseret News, page item. Account of Rodgers’s firing-squad execution says he talked overnight with San Juan County deputies and both prison chaplains.
June 19, 1960. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Feature on the Utah State Prison chapel effort credits chaplains Mark O. Benvegnu, Crozier Fitzgerald and the late Ray Smith.
June 21, 1960. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Final push to finish the Utah State Prison chapel credits the untiring work of the prison chaplains.
February 24, 1961. Deseret News, “Club Honors Prison Chaplain”. A club honors Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu, Kearns pastor and Catholic chaplain at the Utah State Prison.
February 25, 1961. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu, Catholic chaplain at Utah State Prison, receives the Salt Lake Exchange Club’s 1961 Book of Golden Deeds award.
July 1, 1961. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Prison chaplains Benvegnu and Fitzgerald announce first services in the new Utah State Prison chapel, restricted to inmates.
September 9, 1961. Deseret News, page item. Program for the Utah State Prison chapel dedication lists Catholic chaplain Mark O. Benvegnu and retired chaplain Msgr. Moreton.
September 10, 1961. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Preview of the Utah State Prison chapel dedication lists prison chaplains Benvegnu and Fitzgerald and former chaplain Moreton.
September 11, 1961. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Report on the dedication of the Utah State Prison chapel notes prayers by chaplains Benvegnu and Fitzgerald before about 400 guests.
September 16, 1961. Deseret News, page item. Deseret News account of the prison chapel dedication says chaplain Crozier K. Fitzgerald gave the invocation and Mark Benvegnu the benediction.
December 21, 1961. Orem-Geneva Times, “Prison Chaplain Makes Plea for Piano for Chapel”. Utah State Prison chaplain Crozier Fitzgerald appeals for a donated piano for the prison chapel.
December 29, 1961. Deseret News, page item. Utah State Prison service-pin list includes chaplain Crozier Fitzgerald and part-time Catholic chaplain Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu.
January 8, 1962. Deseret News, page item. Steelworkers local donates a piano for women inmates, according to prison chaplain Crozier Fitzgerald.
September 22, 1962. Deseret News, “Challenge Of The Prison Chaplain”. Editorial welcomes Rev. Thomas J. Meersman as the new Utah State Prison chaplain succeeding Rev. Mark O. Benvegnu.
June 19, 1964. Morgan County News, “Prison Chaplain Fireside Speaker”. Morgan County front page announces Utah State Prison LDS chaplain Robert Gehring as a fireside speaker.
November 7, 1964. Deseret News, page item. Church-section feature describes LDS activity at Utah State Prison under chaplain Crozier K. Fitzgerald, including meetings and baptisms.
April 7, 1966. Pleasant Grove Review, page item. Pleasant Grove choir will perform its Easter cantata at Utah State Prison at the invitation of prison chaplain Alan Baird.
May 7, 1966. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Religion feature on Utah State Prison services profiles LDS chaplain Alan Baird and other clergy who minister to inmates.
December 22, 1966. Orem-Geneva Times, page item. LDS chaplain Alan Baird of the Utah State Prison accepts Christmas gifts for inmates collected by seminary students.
July 1, 1967. Salt Lake Tribune, “3 Chaplains At Prison Offer Hand”. Feature on Utah State Prison’s three chaplains, Alan Baird (LDS), Rev. Thomas J. Meersman (Catholic) and Rev. Donald Coleman (Protestant), and their help for inmates before and after release.
March 24, 1968. Box Elder Journal, page item. Rev. Donald Coleman, Protestant chaplain at Utah State Prison, will speak to a Brigham City group about prison life.

1970s

May 2, 1970. Salt Lake Tribune, “Religion Plays Vital Role in Prison Rehabilitation”. Feature on religious programs in rehabilitation of Utah State Prison inmates, drawing on the prison’s chaplains.
May 21, 1970. Salt Lake Tribune, “Prison Chaplain Citizen of Year”. Rev. Thomas J. Meersman, Catholic chaplain at Utah State Prison for nine years, is named outstanding citizen of the year by the Salt Lake City Camp, Omaha Woodmen.
August 18, 1970. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Obituary of Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton notes he resigned as Utah State Prison chaplain in May 1955.
October 19, 1970. Deseret News, page item. Item on a mental health association officer notes Rev. Frazer Crocker is the Protestant chaplain at Utah State Prison.
January 19, 1971. Deseret News, page item. Describes how inmates are encouraged by the prison’s three chaplains, with Alan Baird coordinating as senior chaplain.
February 11, 1972. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. A prison inmate who missed his return from classes told the prison chaplain he would come back and was later jailed by sheriff’s deputies.
September 22, 1972. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Prison chaplain Alan Baird credits a program for keeping many released Utah State Prison inmates from returning.
December 8, 1972. Deseret News, page item. A penal-officials team recommends, among other changes, that a chaplain be assigned to the Salt Lake County Jail.
September 8, 1973. Deseret News, “New Utah Prison Chaplain Serves The Lord”. Profiles Wayne L. Gardner, the Utah State Prison’s new LDS chaplain, and his goal of giving inmates individual attention.
January 25, 1975. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Religion-page feature on prison chaplain Cline G. Campbell, who sees himself as an inmate advocate and mediator at Utah State Prison.
April 28, 1975. Logan Herald Journal, page item. Photo caption on a Cache County alternative-service plan shows Ken Lindquist, whom Cache County Jail inmates call “chaplain,” visiting a prisoner.
June 20, 1976. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Utah Peace Officers Association convention report lists Utah State Prison’s Cline Campbell as appointed association chaplain and counselor.
June 24, 1976. Vernal Express, page item. Vernal report on the Utah Peace Officers convention lists prison chaplain Cline Campbell as appointed association chaplain and counselor.
September 20, 1976. Deseret News, page item. Letter from Sgt. Max Yospe, UPOA secretary-treasurer and Salt Lake City police chaplain, thanking media and donors for aiding the family of slain state narcotics agent Bob Hutchings.
January 18, 1977. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Coverage of Gary Gilmore’s execution mentions Rev. Thomas J. Meersman, Catholic chaplain at the prison.
April 16, 1977. Sun Advocate, page item. Rev. Thomas Meersman, the Catholic Utah State Prison chaplain who is also senior chaplain at the city-county jail, recalls staying with Gary Gilmore until his execution.
April 23, 1977. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Religion page describes chaplains at the Salt Lake County youth detention center and notes the state is seeking a new full-time prison chaplain.
September 24, 1977. Deseret News, page item. Reports formation of a volunteer ministerial corps to serve as Salt Lake City police chaplains, quoting Police Chaplain Max Yospe.
September 24, 1977. Salt Lake Tribune, “Ministerial Groups Approve Police Plan; Chaplain Corps”. Clergy and Chief E.L. Willoughby organize a Salt Lake City police chaplains corps approved by ministerial groups.
October 8, 1977. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Ministerial Association luncheon on churches and corrections will feature Rev. Thomas Meersman, Utah State Prison chaplain, on a panel.
October 12, 1977. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Rev. Thomas Meersman, longtime Catholic chaplain at the Utah State Prison, urges churches to work within the prison system.
October 13, 1977. Lehi Free Press, page item. Lehi Stake youth fireside will feature Utah State Prison chaplain Al Chappell as speaker.
November 13, 1977. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Sgt. Max Yospe, Salt Lake City police chaplain, and the police women’s auxiliary help police spouses understand the job’s demands.
December 31, 1977. Deseret News, “First Presidency honored by S.L police”. Chief Bud Willoughby gives LDS First Presidency members pen sets inlaid with police chaplain badges and names them honorary police chaplains.
January 12, 1978. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Catholic prison chaplain Father Thomas Meersman delivers calendars collected by readers to Utah State Prison inmates.
April 15, 1978. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Police Chief E.L. Willoughby asks ministers and the department’s Police Chaplain Unit to urge safer driving after a string of traffic deaths.
January 13, 1979. Salt Lake Tribune, “Volunteer Chaplains Aid Police”. Describes the Salt Lake City Police Department’s volunteer police chaplain section and its work.
February 10, 1979. Salt Lake Tribune, “Prison Chaplain, 75, Tells of Joys”. Profiles Rev. Douglas A. Washington, Protestant chaplain and the first black chaplain hired at the Utah State Prison.
June 9, 1979. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profile of departing Methodist pastor Rev. Obaugh notes he helped set up the Salt Lake City Police Department’s chaplain corps.
September 16, 1979. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Notice of a criminal-justice program lists Rev. Thomas J. Meersman, Catholic chaplain at Utah State Prison and Salt Lake County Jail, as a speaker.
September 23, 1979. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Photo caption: Elmer Knowles, a volunteer Utah State Prison chaplain for 22 years, oversees inmate gardening projects.
October 14, 1979. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. At a domestic-violence symposium, Chief Bud Willoughby says Salt Lake City police train in crisis intervention and have created a chaplains corps.
November 8, 1979. Midvale Journal Sentinel, page item. Explains the Salt Lake police Chaplain Section of about 20 clergy, including Sandy ministers, who make death notifications and aid officers.

1980s

January 12, 1980. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Explains how members of the Salt Lake City Police Department’s chaplain program, all ordained ministers, deliver death notifications.
January 31, 1980. Magna Times, page item. Magna residents William Mead and Kent Goble serve in the Salt Lake City Police Chaplain Corps assisting families of accident and crime victims.
June 7, 1980. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profile of departing Cottonwood Presbyterian pastor Rev. Arthur C. Johnson notes he helped form and served in the Salt Lake City Police Chaplains Corps.
June 21, 1980. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Reports the dedication of a new Utah State Prison chapel long sought by the prison’s chaplains.
July 19, 1980. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profile of Lutheran pastoral intern Barbara Linder notes she volunteered as an on-call Salt Lake City police chaplain; prison chaplain Frazer Crocker also mentioned.
August 21, 1980. Logan Herald Journal, page item. AP report on the Liberty Park sniper killings notes victim Ted Fields was the son of a Salt Lake City police chaplain.
August 21, 1980. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Front-page AP story on the Liberty Park sniper slayings identifies victim Ted Fields as the son of a Salt Lake City police chaplain.
August 22, 1980. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Coverage of the Liberty Park sniper killings notes victim Ted Fields’s father, Rev. Theodore Fields Sr., was a part-time police chaplain.
November 29, 1980. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Police Chaplain May Be Named”. Reports plans to name a chaplain for the Ogden Police Department.
January 17, 1981. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Feature on volunteer clergy in the Salt Lake City Police Department chaplain program and their growing role.
March 5, 1981. Logan Herald Journal, page item. After a federal civil-rights verdict against Joseph Paul Franklin, Rev. Ted Fields Sr., chaplain for Salt Lake police, says he hopes for a state murder conviction.
May 19, 1981. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. West Valley police six-month crime report notes the new department organized a chaplain program of about 20 people for death and injury notifications.
July 2, 1981. West Valley View, page item. West Valley’s police chief reviews the department’s first year, including officers establishing a chaplain corps.
August 6, 1981. West Valley View, “Police Chaplains Choose Leaders”. Officers are elected for the West Valley Police Chaplains Association, created by general order of Chief David Campbell.
September 22, 1981. Logan Herald Journal, page item. Joseph Paul Franklin is convicted of murdering Ted Fields, son of Salt Lake City’s police chaplain, and David Martin.
September 22, 1981. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Wire story on Joseph Paul Franklin’s murder conviction identifies victim Ted Fields as the son of Salt Lake City’s police chaplain.
October 17, 1981. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Photo caption from the annual ministerial conference luncheon shows two clergy sharing a joke with Police Chaplain Max Yospe.
January 7, 1982. West Mountain Times, page item. West Valley police chaplain Richard A. Amos gives the opening prayer at a city council swearing-in ceremony.
January 20, 1982. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Dan Valentine column on Calendar Day at Utah State Prison features Catholic chaplain Rev. Thomas Meersman.
February 6, 1982. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Salt Lake Police Chaplains install new officers for the first time since 1978, with W. Kent Goble installed by Rev. Robert J. Schrank.
March 31, 1982. Logan Herald Journal, page item. Former Utah State Prison head chaplain Cline Campbell describes Gary Gilmore’s final days and execution, including asking Father Meersman to help unbuckle the body.
March 31, 1982. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Front-page teaser says a former Mormon chaplain at Utah State Prison described Gary Gilmore’s final days in an interview.
May 29, 1982. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Police chaplain Sgt. Max Yospe speaks at a Salt Lake City police ceremony honoring fallen Sgt. Heaps.
June 3, 1982. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Rev. Ted Fields, chaplain for Salt Lake City police, says new federal charges against Joseph Paul Franklin reopen old wounds for his family.
June 24, 1982. Wasatch Wave, page item. Midway community news reports Ron Gale has been chosen chaplain of the peace officers for the year.
November 27, 1982. Salt Lake Tribune, “Pastor to Become Prison Chaplain”. West Valley City pastor Rev. Victor Bonnell is assigned as Catholic chaplain at the Utah State Prison.
November 28, 1982. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Column recalls a radio interview with the Catholic priest who was Utah State Prison chaplain during Gary Gilmore’s execution.
February 16, 1983. Salt Lake Tribune, “Salt Lake Family Receives Medal For Subduing Man With Knife”. Coverage of the Salt Lake City Police Department’s awards luncheon includes an honor for a department chaplain named Max; the surname is unreadable in the scan.
June 30, 1983. Beaver County News, page item. Beaver County item on Ron and Gayle Gale, former Milford residents, notes Ron most recently served the peace officers’ organization as chaplain.
July 7, 1983. Wasatch Wave, page item. Midway couple honored by the Utah Peace Officers auxiliary; trooper Ron Gale has most recently served the peace officers’ organization as chaplain.
December 8, 1983. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Parole board story says prison chaplain Bud Leikvoll married an inmate and his fiancée after their hearing.
December 28, 1983. Davis News Journal, page item. Profile of Rev. Isaac P. Brantley, Protestant chaplain at Utah State Prison, and his wife’s work with inmates.
January 5, 1984. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Utah State Prison’s four chaplains launch a calendar drive for inmates, says Rev. Victor G. Bonnell.
January 31, 1984. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Looking-back column reprints a Jan. 31, 1959 item on a $400 gift to the Utah State Prison chapel fund announced by prison chaplain the Rev. Mark O. Benvegue (spelling as printed/OCR).
May 26, 1984. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. At a Salt Lake City police memorial, chaplain Sgt. Max Yospe reads the names of department members who died during the year.
August 18, 1984. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Ogden ward program lists Utah State Prison chaplain George Pemberton among speakers.
December 14, 1984. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Volunteer chaplain Lynn G. Kenley dedicates a new chapel at the Salt Lake County Detention Center for youths.
May 2, 1985. West Valley View, page item. At an awards banquet where West Valley police members were honored, police chaplain Don Maruji receives a special award for his service to the West Valley Chaplains Association.
May 2, 1985. Magna Times, page item. West Valley police awards include a special award to Police Chaplain Don Maruji for service to the West Valley Chaplains Association.
August 16, 1985. Sun Advocate, page item. Price City Council hears a proposed police chaplaincy program introduced by Chief Luke Owings with pastor Doug Grogan.
December 31, 1985. Salt Lake Tribune, “Chaplains Seek Calendars for Prisoners”. Utah State Prison chaplains again ask for calendar donations for inmates, according to Rev. Victor G. Bonnell.
January 9, 1986. West Valley View, page item. Police Chaplain Steve Kirts takes part in a West Valley City officials’ swearing-in ceremony attended by Gov. Norm Bangerter.
February 27, 1986. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Rev. Robert Schrank accepts an award on behalf of the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Volunteer Police Chaplain Corps.
April 22, 1986. Salt Lake Tribune, “Cathedral of Madeleine Rector To Leave for New Position”. The Rev. Thomas J. Meersman leaves as Cathedral of the Madeleine rector to become diocesan director of special affairs; the story notes he is chaplain at the VA Hospital and Utah State Prison.
August 21, 1986. Davis County Clipper, “Potts Observes 80th”. Birthday profile of Harold V. Potts lists service as a Salt Lake City police chaplain for two and a half years.
August 24, 1986. Provo Daily Herald, “Counselor warns criminal behavior, tendancies begin with red flags way before laws broken”. George S. Pemberton, a former LDS chaplain at Utah State Prison, lectures on attitudes he observed among inmates.
November 26, 1986. Emery County Progress, page item. Workshop item notes Price pastor Douglas L. Grogan helped set up and serves in the Price Police Chaplain Program, after seven years with the Honolulu Police Chaplaincy.
January 15, 1987. Midvale Journal Sentinel, “Prison Chaplains Seek Calendar Donations”. Catholic, Protestant and LDS chaplains at Utah State Prison continue collecting calendars for inmates.
January 15, 1987. West Valley View, page item. West Valley View brief: Utah State Prison chaplains of three faiths continue collecting calendars for inmates.
February 7, 1987. Salt Lake Tribune, “Paid Clergy at Prison Stirs Legal Issue”. Corrections Director Gary DeLand proposes ending paid Utah State Prison chaplains over church-state concerns; chaplains, including Paul J. Steinfeldt, object.
March 16, 1987. Salt Lake Tribune, “Self-Serving”. Reader letter supports Corrections Director Gary DeLand’s removal of funds from the prison chaplain program.
March 23, 1987. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Native American inmates’ lawsuit over religious access notes Utah State Prison provides several paid prison chaplains for other faiths.
April 8, 1987. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Rev. Thomas J. Meersman, former Utah State Prison chaplain, tells Weber State students about counseling Gary Gilmore before his execution.
August 26, 1987. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Condemned inmate Pierre Dale Selby names LDS chaplain Heber Geurts and former prison chaplain Thomas Meersman among execution witnesses.
August 27, 1987. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Before his execution, Selby was visited by Father Thomas Meersman, a longtime prison chaplain he chose as a witness.
December 25, 1987. Salt Lake Tribune, “It’s Time to Donate Calendars to Prison”. Chaplains at Utah State Prison again collect calendars for more than 1,700 inmates.
April 28, 1988. Magna Times, page item. West Valley Exchange Club honors Joseph Sanders, who volunteers several days a month as a Salt Lake City Police Department chaplain.
May 20, 1988. Deseret News, “No More Police Chaplain”. Budget cuts eliminate Max Yospe’s 14-year post as Salt Lake police chaplain; he had organized the volunteer Police Chaplain Corps.
May 28, 1988. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Budget news reports the Salt Lake City Police Department’s chaplain position will be eliminated and corps administration shifted to staff services.
June 9, 1988. Magna Times, page item. Describes the volunteer Salt Lake City Police Chaplain Corps, established about ten years earlier, serving on call.
June 10, 1988. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Coverage of Arthur Gary Bishop’s execution quotes LDS bishop Heber Geurts, a volunteer prison chaplain, on Bishop’s remorse.
June 14, 1988. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Salt Lake City Council restores funding for a police chaplain that the mayor had proposed cutting.
June 18, 1988. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Volunteer Utah State Prison chaplain Heber Geurts reflects on his friendship with executed killer Arthur Gary Bishop.
August 3, 1988. Wasatch Wave, page item. Wasatch County news reports Ronald Gale nominated a second time as chaplain of the Peace Officers Association.
September 1, 1988. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. After a Delta crash in Dallas, Salt Lake City Police volunteer chaplains, including Cliff Higbee and Kent Goble, waited with families at the airport.
March 2, 1989. Magna Times, page item. Feature writer Kent Goble recounts a notification visit as a Salt Lake City police chaplain to a family later tied to Ted Bundy’s crimes.
May 25, 1989. Deseret News, “Funeral Friday At Provo Ward House For LDS Chaplain Crozier K. Fitzgerald”. Funeral notice for Crozier K. Fitzgerald, described as the first LDS chaplain at the Utah State Prison.
September 15, 1989. Salt Lake Tribune, “SL Officers Suspended After Dispute Involving an Alleged Lovers’ Triangle”. Two Salt Lake City officers are suspended; after an armed confrontation, one officer was visited at home by the police chaplain.

1990s

February 8, 1990. Provo Daily Herald, page item. AP story on a deadly Wasatch Manor apartment fire in Salt Lake City reports a fire battalion chief called for all police chaplains.
February 15, 1990. Magna Times, page item. Kent Goble writes about his years as a volunteer Salt Lake City police chaplain and the roughly 25-member corps led by Max Yospe.
March 8, 1990. Manti Messenger, “New Baptist minister will serve Sanpete”. New Sanpete Baptist pastor Mike Bardon will also volunteer as a chaplain at the Gunnison prison.
March 14, 1990. Gunnison Valley News, page item. Gunnison Valley News reports Pastor Mike Bardon will volunteer as a chaplain at the Gunnison prison.
April 22, 1990. Provo Daily Herald, “Bardon starts informal Bible study”. Religion notes report Pastor Bardon will also work as a volunteer chaplain at the new Gunnison prison.
May 16, 1990. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Max Yospe, past UPOA chaplain and former police chaplain, gives the memorial address at the Utah Peace Officer Memorial.
September 13, 1990. Magna Times, page item. A volunteer chaplain recounts being called out by Rev. Bob Schrank, a Salt Lake City Police Chaplain Corps team captain, to a mock plane-crash disaster drill at Salt Lake International Airport.
October 18, 1990. Magna Times, page item. Reader letter from a Salt Lake City police chaplain since 1975 urges outreach to gang-involved youth and offers the chaplains’ help.
August 15, 1991. Magna Times, page item. Story on an inmate gardening project credits Elmer Knowles, a volunteer chaplain and horticulturist at the state prison for 34 years.
September 23, 1991. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Obituary-news item on Rev. Thomas Meersman notes his years as Utah State Prison chaplain, including ministering to Gary Gilmore.
September 25, 1991. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Obituary of Rev. Thomas Meersman lists his service as Catholic chaplain at the Utah State Prison.
September 25, 1991. Deseret News, “Rev. Thomas Meersman”. Editorial tribute noting Rev. Thomas Meersman served 25 years as chaplain at the Utah State Prison and counseled death-row inmates.
October 2, 1991. Richfield Reaper, “Richfield Candidates Express Views”. Richfield council candidate K. Medford Hutson says he volunteers as chaplain at Sevier Valley Hospital, Sevier County Jail and Utah State Prison.
November 30, 1991. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Feature on women inmates’ faith quotes prison chaplains Reyes Rodriguez and H.E. “Bogie” Bogenrief and pastor Willie Bann Jr.
August 1, 1992. Salt Lake Tribune, “Memorial Speaker Likens Andrews’ Plight to Christ’s”. At William Andrews’ memorial service, Utah State Prison chaplain Heber Geurts speaks about their 18-year friendship.
September 24, 1992. Magna Times, page item. Kent Goble column recalls the funeral of young Ted Fields, killed by Joseph Paul Franklin, and how his father, Pastor Ted Fields, kept ministering as a Salt Lake City Police Department chaplain; it also describes chaplain-corps members including commander Max Yospe.
November 20, 1992. Deseret News, “S.L. Police, Sheriff’s Office To Share Chaplains”. The 25-member Salt Lake City Police Chaplains Corps will extend services to unincorporated Salt Lake County under a sheriff’s office agreement.
December 16, 1992. Richfield Reaper, page item. Richfield profile of Rev. K. Medford Hutson notes he was one of the founders of the Sevier Valley Chaplain program and has worked at Sevier Valley Hospital, the Sevier County Jail and the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison.
May 5, 1993. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Tribune coverage of the Salt Lake City Police Department’s 13th annual awards luncheon lists chaplains Mike Bemis and Jake Ortega among those honored.
May 13, 1993. Magna Times, “Utah Peace Officers Assn. sets annual memorial May 14”. The Utah Peace Officers Association’s annual Memorial to Fallen Officers at the State Capitol, honoring UHP trooper Joseph S. Brumett III, is conducted by Clearfield police under Chief Morton Spark, who is also UPOA chaplain.
May 15, 1993. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Clearfield police chaplain Morton Sparks speaks at the Utah Peace Officers Association memorial at the State Capitol.
May 29, 1993. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profile of retiring St. John’s Lutheran pastor Rev. Robert Schrank notes he still serves on the Salt Lake City Volunteer Police Chaplains Corps command staff.
June 9, 1993. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Feature on Utah State Prison religious services quotes prison chaplain Harold Bogenrief.
July 31, 1993. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Profile of Isaac and Rosemary Brantley recalls four years he served as a Utah State Prison chaplain.
August 29, 1993. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profiles of West Valley City council candidates include a District 7 hopeful described as having served as a volunteer police chaplain.
September 8, 1993. Wasatch Wave, page item. UHP Sgt. Ronald T. Gale’s retirement notice lists his service as chaplain, among other posts, in the Utah Peace Officers Association.
September 9, 1993. Deseret News, “Chaplain Upholds Law And Offers Comfort From A Higher Authority”. Profiles Lawrence Recla, Holy Cross Lutheran pastor serving as volunteer police chaplain for Brigham City and Tremonton officers.
March 3, 1994. Magna Times, page item. Letter from a 15-year chaplain to Salt Lake City police and Salt Lake County honors fallen officer Michael Welcker.
March 21, 1994. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Letter from a 15-year chaplain to Salt Lake City police and Salt Lake County praises officers after an officer’s death.
September 26, 1994. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Photo caption from a Salt Lake City supermarket shootout shows police chaplains comforting a victim’s cousin.
October 8, 1994. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Bill Bergener, one of 25 volunteer Salt Lake police chaplains, performs ‘spiritual triage’ after a grocery-store parking-lot shooting.
October 9, 1994. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Quote-of-the-week feature cites mortician Brian Robertson, a volunteer police chaplain, on his emotions in the work.
January 14, 1995. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Jail chaplain may find himself really behind bars”. A volunteer Weber County Jail chaplain has already pleaded guilty to a fraud charge involving forged money orders and awaits sentencing; Sheriff Craig Dearden has banned him from the jail.
January 15, 1995. Deseret News, “Jail Chaplain Admits Guilt In Fraud Scheme”. A volunteer Weber County Jail chaplain pleads guilty to second-degree felony communications fraud over forged money orders; Sheriff Craig Dearden bans him from the jail.
January 25, 1995. Logan Herald Journal, page item. Salt Lake City officer B.L. Smith’s prayer program for officers enlisted the department’s chaplain corps to recruit volunteers.
February 7, 1995. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Judge questions ‘righteous motive’”. A former volunteer Weber County Jail chaplain is sentenced to 180 days in jail in the 1995 money-order fraud case.
February 10, 1995. Salt Lake Tribune, “Jail Chaplain Becomes A Davis Inmate Today”. A former volunteer Weber County Jail chaplain is ordered to report to the Davis County Jail to begin a 180-day sentence in the money-order fraud case.
March 4, 1995. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Story on the Project Exodus inmate program notes Haven Barlow, Gasser, William Dinehart and Glen Brown are volunteer prison chaplains.
March 5, 1995. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Ogden version of the Project Exodus story identifies Barlow, Gasser, Dinehart and Glen Brown as volunteer prison chaplains.
March 9, 1995. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Where was oversight when budget altered?”. Standard-Examiner editorial on Project Exodus funding notes former Sen. Haven Barlow and former House Speaker Glen Brown serve as prison chaplains.
March 13, 1995. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Commentary on Project Exodus funding notes Barlow, Brown and fiscal analyst William Dinehart are all volunteer prison chaplains.
June 1, 1995. Magna Times, “Fallen police officers honored”. Salt Lake Police Chaplains, headed by retired Sgt. Max Yospe, hold their annual banquet and honor officers killed in the line of duty.
June 12, 1995. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Column item: the Salt Lake City Police Chaplain’s Society complained about worn cars; the county then gave chaplains a new Crown Victoria.
December 16, 1995. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Religion-page item says the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Police Chaplain Corps is seeking more clergy, according to head chaplain Max Yospe.
December 31, 1995. Provo Daily Herald, “Nielsen looks back on fine career”. Profile of retired Orem officer Gerald Nielsen mentions he is chaplain for the Utah Peace Officers’ Association.
January 17, 1996. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Prison chaplain Rev. Reyes Rodriguez says he baptized condemned inmate John Albert Taylor at Utah State Prison.
April 18, 1996. Magna Times, page item. Letter from a nearly 20-year chaplain to Salt Lake City police and the county sheriff reflects on tragedies witnessed and human goodness.
July 20, 1996. Deseret News, “Chaplain At Prison Seeks Volunteers To Visit Inmates”. Brief notice that the Utah State Prison’s Catholic chaplain seeks volunteers to visit inmates and lead services and classes.
October 19, 1996. Deseret News, “Chaplain Shatters Barriers Behind Bars”. Profiles Roy Welty, full-time chaplain at the Salt Lake Detention Center of Utah’s Division of Youth Corrections.
November 16, 1996. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profile of Mountain Side Baptist Church in the southeast Salt Lake Valley notes Pastor Rick Korsmo has served more than a year as a volunteer chaplain with the Sandy Police Department.
July 24, 1997. Magna Times, page item. Letter from a volunteer Salt Lake City police chaplain recalls crisis calls and one case that still haunts him.
September 27, 1997. Ogden Standard-Examiner, “Chaplains shoulder emotions: Davis County initiates corps of chaplains to advise and counsel”. Davis County Sheriff Rob Davis is forming a volunteer chaplain corps to accompany deputies and counsel families after deaths; the story also notes Salt Lake’s existing chaplain corps and Weber County’s planned crisis volunteer group.
March 11, 1998. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Sandy City police chaplain Steve Meitner discusses officer stress and suicide.
May 16, 1998. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Story on LDS genealogy and temple-ordinance interest among inmates mentions a volunteer chaplain teaching genealogy at the Point of the Mountain prison.
August 9, 1998. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. The three-member West Valley City Police chaplain corps is called out after five children are found dead in a car trunk.
August 9, 1998. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Police chaplain Don Maruji comments on how families and officers are coping after five children died in a car trunk.
August 10, 1998. Ogden Standard-Examiner, page item. Story on children found dead in a car trunk quotes police chaplain Don Maruji on counseling an officer who found them.
August 10, 1998. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Coverage of children found dead in a car trunk says West Valley City police chaplains counseled family, witnesses and officers.
May 12, 1999. Salt Lake Tribune, “WVC Police Honor Three Chaplains Who Give Freely in Times of Crisis”. Tribune page version: West Valley City police honor three chaplains for their crisis work.
June 26, 1999. Deseret News, “A time for comfort: Police chaplains help ease the pain for victims, kin after crimes and violence”. Feature on Salt Lake City police chaplains, recounting chaplain Michael Denos’s Christmas Eve suicide-scene call, as told by head chaplain Max Yospe.
July 8, 1999. Magna Times, page item. Salt Lake County volunteer-program list includes the Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Corps.
October 17, 1999. Salt Lake Tribune, “Hidden or not, religion is issue in mayor race”. Story on religion in the Salt Lake City mayoral race notes Stuart Reid’s campaign literature cites his years as a police chaplain.
October 21, 1999. Davis County Clipper, “Minister named to police chaplaincy post”. Rev. Alex Lucero of Abundant Life Assembly of God is named chaplain to the North Salt Lake Police Department.
October 28, 1999. Davis County Clipper Today, page item. Reports North Salt Lake Police Department’s naming of Rev. Alex Lucero, who previously served Salt Lake City and West Valley police chaplaincies.

2000s

February 9, 2000. Orem-Geneva Times, page item. Orem names retired public-safety officer L. Gerald Nielsen Citizen of the Quarter; he served as state chaplain of the Utah Peace Officers Association.
May 24, 2000. Park Record, “What to do if sudden death occurs”. Park City’s Rev. Tom O’Connor of Mountain Chaplaincy, also a volunteer Park City police chaplain, will teach a class on sudden deaths.
June 18, 2000. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Prison chaplains, including Matt Fellows, describe abuse and extortion among inmates at the Utah State Prison.
August 5, 2000. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Profile of attorney and Old Catholic priest Bob Meredith, who ministers as deputy commander of the Salt Lake Police Chaplains Unit.
September 21, 2000. Deseret News, “S.L. police seek volunteer chaplains”. Salt Lake City police report a chaplain shortage in their 1975-founded Chaplain Program and recruit ordained or church-authorized volunteers.
October 26, 2000. Magna Times, page item. Writer who has served 20 years as a Salt Lake City police chaplain shares a poem written after comforting grieving parents.
November 11, 2001. Deseret News, “S.L. police chaplain resigns over car tax”. Head chaplain Max Yospe, serving since 1975, resigns citing new costs for his take-home police car.
December 6, 2001. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Letter to the editor by Alan Rindlisbacher, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office chaplain, recounting a middle-of-the-night death notification after a Nov. 3 DUI crash in Taylorsville.
January 22, 2002. Tooele Transcript Bulletin, “For those toughest times chaplains called in”. Tooele County Sheriff Frank Scharmann organizes a sheriff’s chaplain program, led by Pastor Jon McCartney, for death notifications.
April 13, 2002. Deseret News, “Chaplain speaks from heart”. Columnist profiles friend Father Reyes Rodriguez, chaplain at the Salt Lake County Jail.
May 7, 2002. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Chaplain Steve Kirts is quoted (‘Even one death is unacceptable’) in a story on a motorcycle fundraising ride for SIDS research.
May 7, 2002. Tooele Transcript Bulletin, page item. At a SIDS fundraiser ride, West Valley’s police chaplain led a memorial for SIDS victims and law enforcement victims of 9/11.
November 28, 2002. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Volunteer-opportunities listing seeks chaplains for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Corps, on call two 24-hour periods a month.
December 25, 2002. Deseret News, “Police chaplain is ready to help”. Holiday profile of Rev. Steve Kirts, senior chaplain of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office 12-member volunteer Chaplain Corps.
September 22, 2003. Salt Lake Tribune, page item. Detective Jay Rhodes, head of the Salt Lake police chaplain program, discusses next-of-kin notification.
May 8, 2004. Salt Lake Tribune, “Pastor meets challenges of serving inmates at Utah State Prison”. Profile of Rev. James Blaine, supervising chaplain at the Utah State Prison in Draper.
May 11, 2004. Emery County Progress, page item. Photo page on the Utah Peace Officers Memorial service at the Capitol shows Chaplain Clarke Christensen speaking.
February 3, 2006. Intermountain Catholic, “With strong support of bishop, prison chaplain perseveres”. First-person essay by Father James E. Blaine, supervising chaplain at the Utah State Prison, on his prison ministry and the bishop’s support.
May 10, 2006. Vernal Express, “City considers chaplain program”. Vernal Police Chief Gary Jensen proposes a volunteer police chaplain program to the city council.
July 1, 2006. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Rev. Richard Green, Utah County Sheriff’s Office chaplain, discusses a planned jail chapel room.
September 12, 2006. Provo Daily Herald, page item. At Provo’s Sept. 11 memorial at Fire Station No. 3, the police chaplain offered a prayer.
January 28, 2007. Deseret News (obituary), “Max Yospe”. Obituary says Yospe established and for 17 years headed the Chaplain Corps for Salt Lake City police and Salt Lake County sheriff.
January 29, 2007. Deseret News, “Max Yospe, who established police chaplains corps, dies”. News obituary for Max Yospe, the Salt Lake City Police Department’s first full-time chaplain, who founded its volunteer chaplain corps.
March 6, 2007. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Salt Lake City police chaplain Jay Rhodes discusses the emotional toll on officers after the Trolley Square shootings.
October 15, 2007. The Daily Utah Chronicle (University of Utah), page item. Utah County Sheriff’s Office chaplain Richard Green heads a new re-entry assistance program for released inmates.
February 6, 2008. Vernal Express, “Vernal Police recruit volunteer chaplains”. Vernal Police Chief Gary Jensen recruits local clergy as volunteer police chaplains.
May 17, 2008. Provo Daily Herald, page item. Herald ‘Beehive’ commendation to Utah County Jail chaplain Richard Green and volunteer mentors who run a year-old re-entry program helping addicts cope after release from jail.
August 9, 2008. Deseret News, “Police chaplains for a changing world”. Feature on chaplains across Utah, including Rev. Randy Mansfield, a UTA police detective who also serves as a police chaplain.
January 7, 2009. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “SF Maceys contributes Christmas to County Jail inmates”. A Spanish Fork grocery donated holiday treats to Utah County Jail inmates, handed out by volunteers including jail chaplain the Rev. Richard Green.
April 20, 2009. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Second chance”. Utah County jail chaplain Richard Green seeks a federal grant to expand a re-entry program helping repeat offenders stay out of jail.
April 23, 2009. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com) (Spanish Fork Press, Vern C. Gillmore), “Jesus found in County Jail”. First part of a series on religious programs at the Utah County Jail, describing inmates’ options to meet with the jail chaplain.
April 27, 2009. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com) (editorial), “editorial 0428 reap”. Daily Herald editorial urges scrutiny of a Utah County repeat-offender re-entry program driven by jail chaplain Richard Green.
April 29, 2009. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com) (Spanish Fork Press, Vern C. Gillmore), “Jesus found at jail part II”. Second part of the series introduces Utah County Jail chaplain Richard Green, who tries to meet each new inmate to assess religious needs.
July 8, 2009. Deseret News, “Tragic news never easy for law enforcers to deliver”. Story on how Utah officers deliver death notifications quotes Rev. Steve Kirts, senior chaplain of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office volunteer chaplain corps.
August 5, 2009. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com) (obituary), “Conway Alan Ashton”. Obituary of Conway Alan Ashton lists police chaplain among his many civic roles; the agency is not named.
September 25, 2009. Standard-Examiner, “Sunset mayor”. Candidate profile for Sunset mayor lists Ryan Furniss’s qualifications, including three years as a volunteer police chaplain.
October 23, 2009. Standard-Examiner, “Sunset Mayor”. General-election preview for Sunset mayor again notes candidate Ryan Furniss served three years as a volunteer police chaplain.

2010s

July 28, 2010. Deseret News, “Man who held Alpine family hostage sent to prison”. At sentencing of a man who held an Alpine family hostage, the defense submitted letters from his chaplain and others who worked with him while incarcerated.
July 29, 2010. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Consecutive prison terms in Alpine home invasion”. At sentencing in the Alpine home invasion case, the defendant thanked jail staff and the chaplain for helping him while incarcerated.
September 25, 2010. Deseret News, “Prison chaplain: God hasn’t given up on those in prison”. Report on a talk by Robert Feland about 15 years of religious teaching inside the Utah State Prison.
November 14, 2010. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Young lives lost: Part 1”. First installment of a youth-suicide series quotes Rev. Dean Jackson, Rock Canyon Church pastor and Provo Police Department chaplain, on survivor guilt.
November 16, 2010. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Young lives lost: Part 3”. Third installment of the youth-suicide series again quotes Provo police chaplain Rev. Dean Jackson on how people view suicide.
November 19, 2010. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Provo Mayor calls for objective review of police department”. Provo’s police review includes confidential interviews of all department employees by the department’s chaplain, Rev. Dean Jackson, under contract.
November 19, 2010. Deseret News, “Provo mayor hires firm to audit police department”. Provo’s mayor ordered an outside audit of the police department and said police chaplains would meet one-on-one with employees to gauge morale.
January 14, 2011. Standard-Examiner, “Church leaders address sheriff’s stance”. Clergy react to Weber County Sheriff Terry Thompson’s letter on God and capital punishment; an unnamed local police chaplain defended him.
June 1, 2011. Standard-Examiner, “Bonnell has been at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church since 1989”. Farewell story on Layton pastor Msgr. Victor G. Bonnell notes he was Catholic chaplain at the Utah State Prison and Salt Lake County Jail, 1983-1988.
October 20, 2011. Deseret News (obituary), “Obituary: JOHNSON, FERDINAND T”. Obituary of Ferdinand T. Johnson notes he served for many years as a Salt Lake City volunteer police chaplain.
October 29, 2011. Deseret News, “Religion: a powerful tool for those serving time in jail or prison”. Feature on faith programs behind bars profiles Chaplain Mary Challier, who had taught in the Salt Lake County Jail for six years through Good News Jail & Prison Ministries.
November 4, 2011. Intermountain Catholic, “Deacon Steven W. Kirts”. Obituary notes Kirts served as police chaplain for West Valley City from 1981 and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
November 11, 2011. Intermountain Catholic, “Deacon Steve Kirts remembered for chaplaincy, humor and service”. Remembers Kirts’s three decades as a West Valley City police chaplain and member of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Corps.
April 10, 2012. Deseret News, “Prison chaplains: The ups and downs of ministering to the incarcerated”. Feature on prison chaplaincy illustrated with chaplain Lonn Buckley at the Utah State Prison’s Timpanogos women’s facility in Draper.
May 26, 2012. Fox13 (KSTU), “Four dead in crash at St. George Airport”. After a fatal plane crash at St. George’s airport, a St. George city spokesman said officers, particularly the chief and the chaplain, were meeting with victims’ families.
July 4, 2012. Deseret News, “Cathy Free: Free Lunch: Bad news for bighearted chaplain inspires hundreds to help”. Column on Mont Garrett, volunteer Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office chaplain who delivers death notifications, as supporters rally during his cancer fight.
July 29, 2012. The Salt Lake Tribune, “Utah police chaplain honored for decades of service”. Honors ‘Ice Cream Chaplain’ Brian Robertson, long-serving Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office chaplain, for his caring approach.
September 3, 2012. Deseret News (obituary), “Obituary: GARRETT, MONT”. Obituary of Mont Garrett says he volunteered as a chaplain for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s department.
April 26, 2013. Deseret News (obituary), “Obituary: RIGBY, GAYLEN”. Obituary of Gaylen Rigby, Utah Pie Company owner, notes ten years of service as a Salt Lake Police Department chaplain.
June 30, 2013. Deseret News (obituary), “Obituary: JONES, MICHAEL”. Obituary of Michael Jones lists church service and notes he served as a chaplain for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
December 11, 2013. Deseret News (obituary), “Obituary: CORNWALL, STEPHEN”. Obituary of Stephen Cornwall says he volunteered for many years as a chaplain for the Salt Lake City Police Department.
December 19, 2013. KSL.com, “Religion gives hope, renewed confidence to inmates, chaplains say”. Salt Lake County Jail chaplains, including Mary Challier, describe bringing holiday hope to inmates.
May 13, 2015. Gephardt Daily, “Salt Lake County Office of the Sheriff Honors Fallen Members”. Chaplain Melvin Ward offers the invocation at the sheriff’s office memorial for fallen members.
January 28, 2016. St. George News, “Hundreds of balloons released for officer killed in the line of duty”. St. George PD chaplain David Nutter gave the invocation at a balloon release honoring slain Unified Police officer Doug Barney; describes his trauma-response role.
March 25, 2016. St. George News, “Stations of the Cross procession brings people of many faiths together”. Steve Bray, identified as chaplain at Purgatory Correctional Facility, is quoted as a participant in a Good Friday interfaith procession.
July 14, 2016. KSL.com, “Utah police gather at vigil to mourn fallen Dallas officers”. At a Salt Lake City vigil for the slain Dallas officers, Salt Lake City police chaplain Herman Lowe offered a prayer for peace.
November 9, 2016. KSL.com, “’We are beyond devastated’: Family, community gather to mourn fallen West Valley police officer”. Police chaplain Jerry Wellman offered the closing prayer at a vigil for slain West Valley City officer Cody Brotherson.
November 10, 2016. Deseret News, “’We are beyond devastated’: Family, community gather to mourn fallen West Valley police officer”. Deseret News coverage of the vigil for West Valley City officer Cody Brotherson notes police chaplain Jerry Wellman gave the closing prayer.
July 9, 2017. Standard-Examiner (obituary), “Dr. Donald Oliver Barebo”. Obituary of Dr. Donald Oliver Barebo says he served as a hospital, hospice and police chaplain in New Mexico and Utah; agencies are not named.
August 6, 2017. Deseret News, “How chaplains master the art of listening”. Feature on a World Spiritual Health Organization chaplain certification ceremony in Salt Lake quotes SLCPD Assistant Chief Tim Doubt, given an honorary certification, on calling chaplains after injuries or shootings.
November 25, 2017. ABC4, “Family forgives alleged drunk driver who killed their son”. Parents of a teen killed by an alleged drunk driver recall police and a chaplain arriving at their door; Unified Police investigated the crash.
December 27, 2017. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Utah County police departments work to change stigma, care for officers’ mental health”. Series on police mental health notes Provo police have a chaplain available anytime for officers, per department spokesman Nick Dupaix.
October 24, 2018. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Lehi police chaplain wins gold medal at Senior Huntsman games”. Profile of Lehi police chaplain Phil Wasden after he won a gold medal at the Huntsman World Senior Games.
January 8, 2019. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Fallen Provo officer had a big heart, cared about others”. After Provo Officer Joseph Shinners was killed, his colleagues were supported by other agencies, counselors and a volunteer chaplain.
February 8, 2019. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Orem Police Wellness Program helping with physical and mental health”. Orem police’s wellness program added a non-denominational chaplain, Ted Taylor, who rides with officers and was sought out after Officer Shinners’ death.
March 22, 2019. St. George News (obituary), “Stephen Francis Bray”. Obituary noting Bray volunteered as a chaplain at Clark County Detention Center and Southern Utah’s Purgatory Correctional Facility.
July 18, 2019. Park Record, “Annual Bike and Hike Fundraiser returns to Park City on Saturday, July 20”. Preview of a Park City bike-and-hike fundraiser quotes Nicholas Higgins, chaplain for Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, which serves Salt Lake jails.

2020s

March 2, 2020. ABC4, “Weight of the Call: Utah Transit Authority”. Profile of UTA Police work notes the department has a chaplain to provide emotional support after traumatic incidents.
May 1, 2020. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Utah County Sheriff’s deputies cook up surprise for county employee during pandemic”. Story honoring a Utah County jail kitchen employee recounts a chaplain-led religion class where an inmate spoke about her influence.
June 4, 2020. Deseret News, “Volunteers live ‘faith through action’ by serving communities during the pandemic”. Pandemic volunteer roundup reports, per Chaplain Ken Stearn, that Good News Jail and Prison Ministry chaplains kept serving at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail.
August 25, 2020. ABC4, “Behind the Badge: Weber County Sheriff’s Sergeant Tyler Greenhalgh is a real lifesaver”. Profile of Weber County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tyler Greenhalgh says that after a colleague’s suicide he started the office’s first-ever chaplain program.
September 26, 2020. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com) (obituary), “Leslie Gerald Nielsen”. Obituary of longtime Orem police officer Leslie Gerald Nielsen lists his roles, including Utah Peace Officers Association chaplain.
October 1, 2020. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Faith in flux: Utah County churches dealing with challenges of pandemic”. Pandemic church story quotes Linda Walton, a Provo Seventh-day Adventist who chaplains Utah County campuses and serves the Provo Police Department.
October 2, 2020. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Faith without works isn’t dead in Utah County, but congregations face new challenges in COVID-19 era”. Companion pandemic story identifies Chaplain Linda Walton as chaplain to Utah County universities and colleges and the Provo Police Department.
November 2, 2020. St. George News (obituary), “Franklyn Duke Knowles”. Obituary noting Knowles served as assistant chaplain at the Utah State Prison for about five and a half years after a 1963 mission.
February 9, 2021. ABC4, “Behind The Badge: Pastor Jimi Pitts serves Weber County as a volunteer chaplain with the Sheriff’s Office”. Profile of Washington Heights Church pastor Jimi Pitts and his work as a volunteer chaplain for the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.
February 23, 2021. Daily Herald (heraldextra.com), “Mental health assistance available for police in Pleasant Grove”. Pleasant Grove police offer officer mental health support, including weekly availability of therapist Dr. Evan Coates, the department’s chaplain.
April 10, 2021. Deseret News, “2 deputies shot in the face expected to survive, Salt Lake County sheriff says”. After two Salt Lake County deputies were shot near the jail, a chaplain was sent to the hospital to comfort their families.
August 16, 2021. Lehi Free Press, “Lehi’s Fire and Police Department Chaplain–not your ordinary senior citizen”. Profile of Phil Wasden, who serves as chaplain to both the Lehi Police and Lehi Fire departments.
January 23, 2022. Daily Herald, “First responder chaplains at work in Utah County”. Feature on Utah County first-responder chaplains, including a Pleasant Grove police chaplain and a Utah County Jail chaplain who previously served at the state prison.
March 28, 2022. KSL.com, “Woman dies after being hit by a car while trying to cross Foothill Drive”. After a fatal pedestrian crash on Foothill Drive, a Salt Lake City Police Department chaplain went to the scene to help the victim’s family.
July 8, 2022. Lehi Free Press, “Lehi Heritage Day 2022 honorees announced”. Announcement of Lehi Heritage Day 2022 honorees says their service includes acting as chaplain for the Lehi Police Department; the article does not say which honoree held that role.
September 2, 2022. Intermountain Catholic (obituary), “Reverend James E. Blaine”. Obituary for Father James Blaine, who served as a chaplain at the Utah State Prison for 24 years.
September 3, 2022. Lehi Free Press, “Heritage Day is Monday: Free city event celebrates people and homes of Lehi”. Preview of Lehi Heritage Day 2022 says the honoree couples include a police chaplain; the chaplain is not identified by name.
June 16, 2023. Intermountain Catholic, “St. Francis of Assisi parishioner named Orem Police Department Volunteer of the Year”. Greg Lupus, a volunteer chaplain for the Orem and Lindon police departments, was named Orem PD’s volunteer of the year.
February 9, 2024. Intermountain Catholic, “St. James the Just parishioner named chaplain for Ogden Police Department”. Reports John Valdez’s appointment as a chaplain for the Ogden Police Department.
May 7, 2024. St. George News / Cedar City News, “Cedar City interfaith leaders invoke heavenly blessings during ‘National Day of Prayer’”. Iron County Jail chaplain Paul Erickson stepped in at short notice to offer a ‘faith and nation’ prayer at Cedar City’s National Day of Prayer event.
May 12, 2024. Standard-Examiner, “St. Joseph Catholic Church holds Blue Mass honoring police, public safety officers”. Ogden’s St. Joseph Catholic Church held its first Blue Mass for public safety workers, quoting Ogden police chaplain and retired officer John Valdez.
May 13, 2024. The Daily Universe (BYU), “Funeral services honor life, service of Santaquin Police Sgt. Bill Hooser”. Chaplain Cluff conducted the funeral of fallen Santaquin police Sgt. Bill Hooser, acknowledging the governor and police leaders.
May 17, 2024. Intermountain Catholic, “Deacon serves as chaplain for Salt Lake City PD”. Profile of Deacon John Kranz and his service as a Salt Lake City Police Department chaplain.
September 16, 2024. The Salt Lake Tribune, “The University of Utah’s logo actually isn’t a drum and feather”. Story on the U. logo’s designer, the late Ute leader Lacee Harris, notes he served as a chaplain for Native services at the Utah State Prison.
March 14, 2025. Intermountain Catholic, “Deacon John Kranz named chancellor”. An announcement of Kranz’s appointment as diocesan chancellor notes he is an on-call volunteer chaplain for Salt Lake City police.
May 29, 2025. ABC4, “Child dies in hospital after slow speed crash in Salt Lake City”. After a child died following a slow-speed crash in Salt Lake City, police said SLCPD social workers and a department chaplain supported those affected.
August 28, 2025. The Herald Journal (Tremonton Leader), “’What true heroes do:’ Community honors fallen officer Eric Estrada in emotional funeral service”. Chaplain Matt Cluff conducted the funeral of Tremonton-Garland police officer Eric Estrada.
August 28, 2025. KUTV, “Family, colleagues remember Officer Eric Estrada at funeral service”. Chaplain Matthew Cluff spoke for the Estrada family at the funeral, thanking the public for its support.
August 29, 2025. The Herald Journal (hjnews.com), “’He was the cornerstone;’ Community honors fallen Sgt. Lee Sorensen in emotional funeral service”. Chaplain Matt Cluff conducted the funeral of Tremonton-Garland police Sgt. Lee Sorensen.
September 4, 2025. The Herald Journal (hjnews.com, Montpelier edition), “Tremonton community honors two fallen officers in emotional funeral services”. A combined account of the Estrada and Sorensen funerals notes Chaplain Matt Cluff conducted both services.
September 11, 2025. Lovell Chronicle (Wyoming), “Lovell native Phil Wasden honored as master chaplain”. Lehi police/fire chaplain Phil Wasden received ICPC Master Chaplain recognition, presented by Lehi’s fire and police chiefs.
March 4, 2026. West Jordan Journal (City Journals), “West Jordan police start new chaplain program”. West Jordan PD announced a new volunteer chaplain program and plans to recruit six to eight chaplains.
August 15, 2026. The Herald Journal (hjnews.com), “Woody’s farewell: Emanuel Baptist Church in Hyrum bids pastor farewell”. Pastor Don Woody and his wife leave Hyrum’s Emanuel Baptist Church after eight years; the story notes his four years as a Cache County sheriff’s chaplain.

Compiled October 24, 2026; every story re-checked against its source the same day.