John Milton "Milt" Diamond

John Milton “Milt” Diamond, avid outdoorsman and cowboy, saddled up and rode into the sunset on September 4, 2024.

Milt was born on March 3, 1944, to Fred Joyce and Betty Fon Diamond of Springville, Utah. Milt was the eldest of five children: Ronald, Phillip, Sara, and Blair.

His childhood and teen years were divided between town life in Springville and working on the Diamond family’s cattle operation in the appropriately named Diamond Fork Red Hollow Allotment. From an early age, he drove tractors, bailed hay, herded cows, ran fencelines, and hunted deer and rattlesnakes. The Red Hollow Allotment was a place of refuge and recreation for Milt throughout his life and he passed this love of nature on to his children and grandchildren. 

At Springville High School Milt served as the Future Farmers of America president and then the Utah State vice president of the FFA. He attended Snow College on a two-year scholarship, where he excelled academically. While at Snow College Milt supported himself by working as a shepherd for $1 a day and stoking coal boilers to keep the dorms survivable in the frigid winters. After his stint at Snow College Milt married and had six children with his first wife.

Milt served as a beloved Scoutmaster for many years in Payson, Utah, and mentored countless young men through successfully completing the Eagle Scout Program.

Milt wed the love of his life, Cynthia (Watson) Diamond 32 years ago and they built a life centered on horse culture, the love of their pets, and the outdoors. She had the same passion for horses and horse culture as Milt and they reveled in competing at reining events and horse shows across the western U.S.. Among their most joyful experiences were the meandering Sunday rides along the Blackhawk trail network with friends. In addition to the horses, they always had a herd of well-trained dashhounds, Yorkies and Australian cattledogs. 

A remarkably hard worker, Milt was a professional driver focusing on the delivery and handling of fuel and technical chemical deliveries for more than 50 years. Exceedingly rare was the day that he was not up before dawn and out the door to work. 

Milt’s love of horses was a throughline throughout his 80-year lifespan, beginning with the day-to-day use of horses as a ranch tool and culminating with ownership of a nationally ranked reining horse. On the morning of a reining event, he would be up at dawn dry running through every movement in search of perfection. He was an avid member of the IRHA club and was well-liked and respected. While he was most passionate about reining, he relished all horse events - from watching his friend Stoney's quarter horses race to watching Olympic horse jumping. Milt’s proudest accomplishment in the horse arena was the passing of the torch to his granddaughters as competitive riders. 

Despite of – or, more accurately – in strong defiance of challenging health issues over the past few years, Milt stayed active and spent his days working his land, caring for his horses, and meeting daily with his “Old Guy” friends at the local coffee shop. 

Milt is preceded in death by his parents, Fred Joyce and Betty Fon; his youngest son, Jedediah Earl and his daughter-in-law, Stephanie Jensen Diamond. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Cynthia, and five children: Jennifer Diamond (New Jersey), John Hills Diamond (Utah), Joshua Curtis Diamond (Idaho), Joel Milton Diamond (Arizona), and Eliza Jayne Ohran (Utah). Milt has seventeen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

I'm heading for the last roundup Gonna saddle old Paint for the last time and ride So long, old pal, it's time your tears were dried I'm heading for the last roundup

-Gene Autry, “The Last Round-Up”