Jared Orson Deaton

Jared Orson Deaton, a beloved father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend, passed away on March 16, 2025.

Jared was born on August 4,1975 in Greeley, CO to Dennis and Susan Deaton. He was born the second of nine children and the oldest of six boys. As their designated leader, Jared spent his childhood organizing his brothers into baseball teams, yard work crews, paper route runners, and construction gangs building skate ramps in the backyard.

Jared played on the varsity baseball team and graduated from Mountain View High School (1993) in Mesa, Arizona, and graduated with a BS in Computer Science Engineering from Arizona State University. He served as a missionary in the Bahia Brazil mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he faced difficult living conditions and health challenges that were a testament to his incredible endurance and perseverance. Jared married Melanie Colby on May 22, 1998 and they had five children that Jared adored: Emma, Isaac, Seth, Mason, and Jane. They were his whole world and everything he did, he did for them.

Jared was smart and creative and hardworking and started many successful entrepreneurial endeavors in Arizona and Idaho (even in high school!) before he and his family moved to Texas where he started work as a software engineer for Hewlett Packard. Jared spent the majority of his career at Dell, where he worked for over a decade as a software engineer, UI architect, and engineering manager. He managed multiple global teams across the company from India to Brazil. At Dell, he built the first unified design language system for the company and while there, Jared received the Dell Champion Award, an award given to only one engineer in the company per year.

Jared was kind-hearted and a funny, fiercely-loyal friend who made and stayed friends for life. Jared was sensitive and empathetic and always looked out for the lonely and vulnerable. He loved to fight for the underdog.

He loved baseball and softball and wiffleball and was always looking for a way to swing the bat and include the people he loved in his passion. He got his dad and his brothers to participate as a wiffleball team in the Arizona State Games where they took home the silver medal. Jared’s favorite hobby was fishing and he developed the skill and passion for catching big ocean fish and even learned how to catch and release sharks. He dreamed of someday living in Florida where he could go out and fish every day.

Jared is survived by his former wife, Melanie, and their beloved children, Emma, Issac, Seth, Mason, and Jane. He is also survived by his parents, Dennis and Susan (Spencer), and his siblings, April (David) Price, Matthew (Katie) Deaton, Jacob Deaton, Timothy (Christine) Deaton, Rachel (Kent) Stewart, Christian (Suzanne) Deaton, Emily (Joseph) Edison, David (Jillian) Deaton, and their families. He is deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

A memorial service to honor Jared and his life was held Friday, March 28, 2025 in Gilbert, AZ as well as a graveside service in Pflugerville, TX.