Feb. 4, 1957-March 14, 2022
Gregory Steven Pickens, 65, passed away on March 14, 2022. He was born in Salt Lake City on February 4, 1957, to Emily Stevens and Ellison Kirby Pickens. He married Teresa Gardner on Feb.10, 1979, in the St. George Temple.
Greg’s parents divorced when he was only a few years old. His mother later married Robroy Quinn. They lived in Colton, California, where Greg attended elementary school. They later moved to Hurricane, where Greg attended junior high and high school. Greg loved sports and excelled at tennis. He attended a trade tech school in Provo for a few months after graduation. He then went on a mission to the Little Rock, Arkansas, mission, and also served in Tennessee and Mississippi.
Greg worked for Shamo lumber, then went into construction. When work slowed down, Greg and Teresa moved out to his in-laws, (the Gardner family) in Enterprise, to work and became a farmer. They later moved into what our family referred to as the Biasé house, where they made many fun memories. After farming for his in-laws, he became a truck driver for various farmers in Enterprise and progressed to owning his own truck. Greg loved driving trucks and could always show you the best routes and the cheapest gas stations. He was also a great storyteller and could spin the finest details into a short story to turn it into a long tale. Greg loved starting conversations to find out what he had in common with people.
He stopped trucking over the last five years, allowing him to spend more time with his family. Although he was home, he was eager to stay busy and spent most of his time in the temple, where he helped so many get their temple work done. Greg was known for spending 14-hour days at the temple as a habit, with a small group of his friends, and always said that a trip anywhere was never wasted if you could fit in a temple trip. He had a mission to accomplish, and that was thousands of hours of temple work.
Greg was a great example of Action in Motion. He never said much…even to his own family, of his enduring temple actions. He kept going strong to the very end, pushing well above his physical limits. At the end of his days, what we remember most was not his wealth or possessions, but the impact he made on the lives of those who passed over to the other side. He punched well beyond his physical limits, and truly lived the last couple of years of his life as a spiritual being having a physical experience.
He had this glint in his eye that spoke of an inner peace and unshakeable confidence, knowing that he could outwork and outrun most, when it came to the work of gathering Israel on the other side of the veil. Now that the shackles of a physical body have been removed, his endurance game has reached unearthly levels. In fact, he reached those levels while still here on earth wearing out numerous younger friends whose limits were 1.5 hours in the temple.
He’d walk into the temple as soon as it opened around 5 in the morning and left when it closed at 9 at night. He sometimes kept temple workers beyond their final shift because “he wanted to do just one more name,” or would not leave “until all the names were done,” especially during the past two months, when his strength was waning after recovering from an illness. He walked physically with the common crowd but moved spiritually as a hero for the legions of angels whom he helped on the other side. To us, he was the ultimate spiritual warrior, whose main weapon was the ability to outwork and outlast the limited physical mindset of what is possible with temple work. He worked quietly and passed over peacefully. Greg, we love you. YOU are our hero.
Greg is survived by Teresa who is currently living in St. George; his children; Melinda (Aisake) of Castle Dale; Michael (Daniela) of Queen Creek, Arizona; Matthew (Naomi) of Ivins; Sarah (St. George) and Shaylee (St. George); randchildren; Talei, Aaliyah, Elijah, Jacob, Daniel, James, Abigail, Madelynn, Quedyn, Rhylan, Caiya, Kyrah, Corynn and Roydin; and sister, Nancy of La Pineda, California. He is preceded in death by his parents Ellison Kirby Pickens and Emily Stevens and his stepfather Robroy Quinn.
A viewing will be held prior to the services on Thursday, March 17, 5-7:00 pm, at Spilsbury Mortuary on 110 S. Bluff St., St. George. The funeral services will be on Friday, March 18, at 11 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Chapel on 550 East 700 South in St. George. The viewing will be 9-11 a.m. in the same building. Internment will take place at the Enterprise Cemetery in Enterprise.
Arrangements are under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 South Bluff St., St. George.
Friends and family are invited to sign Greg’s online guest book.