John Bartley Czirr

John Bartley Czirr was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 26th, 1929 to Herbert John Czirr and Maxia Marta Moore Czirr. He was an only child and was his parent's pride and joy.

He spent the past two years of his life at the Ashford in Springville, Utah with his wife ShannaLee. He was a ministering brother and loved everyone there. He passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on March 26th, 2026 at the age of 96. He had the opportunity to say goodbye to his children, grandchildren and many great grandchildren as well.

After he graduated from Brigham Young University in 1951, he got his first job offer at the Atomic Energy Plant in Hanford Washington where he worked on nuclear reactors. Luckily, this job took him to Richland, Washington where he met a beautiful brunette named ShannaLee Clement. On an invitation from Shanna, he took the missionary discussions and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1952. He was an active and faithful member all his life. He embodied the phrase "endure to the end." He and ShannaLee were officially engaged the day he was baptized, and were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on June 9th, 1953. They have been married 72 years.

While still attending BYU, he was a member of the Army National Guard in Springville for 3 years and served as a combat engineer. While working at Hanford from 1951-1956, he and Mom saved for him to go to graduate school. He applied and was accepted to U.C. Berkeley. Their little family grew to include six children and one in the oven when he graduated with his PhD in Physics. They didn't want to put off having a family for schooling. Bart was then hired as a research professor at the University of Washington, where they lived for 2 years. He was then invited to work at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory as a nuclear physicist, where he worked for 14 years.

In 1977 our family moved to Mapleton, where he built his solar heated dream home. Bart's legacy and joy was the family he and Shanna built together. His posterity includes 12 children, 45 grandchildren and 88 great grandchildren and counting....Bart is survived by his wife ShannaLee Clement Czirr and his children John Keith Czirr [Albenia], Camille (Czirr) Kincaid [Robert], Rebecca (Czirr) Tyler, Diane (Czirr) Judkins, Carolyn (Czirr) Harr [Keith], Melanie (Czirr) Jones [Alan], Shelley (Czirr) James [Tom], Lynette (Czirr) Jones [Gary], Kyle Czirr [Andrea], Karl Czirr [Julie], Rachel (Czirr) Swenson [Andy], Raphael Czirr [Amber].

Bart was preceded in death by his parents and three grandchildren: Jonathan Merino, Ty Judkins, and Mia Swenson. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Operation Smiles or Intermountain Children's Health.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 3, 2026 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel, 825 Hawks Rest, Mapleton, Utah. Viewings for family and friends will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, 2026 at Wheeler & Sundberg Funeral Homes, 211 East 200 South, Springville, Utah, and from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 3, 2026 before the services at the church. Burial will be in the Mapleton City Cemetery.