Payson-Santaquin community to host benefit concert in support of family that lost father, son days apart
-
- From left, Jenn, Brian and Christopher Suiter are pictured.
-
- A flyer for the upcoming benefit concert is shown.
The southern Utah County community is rallying around a Santaquin family who suffered the loss of their father and son just 20 days apart from each other last month.
The “Suiter Family Benefit Concert” will be held June 24 in Payson to remember Christopher Suiter, 50, and his son, Brian Suiter, 25.
All the proceeds from the concert will go to the Suiter family, said Katie Higley, a family friend and one of the concert’s organizers.
“I have a deep gratitude for the people and the community that are coming together to wrap around this family because, in the end, that really is what is going to help them,” Higley said. “Easing their burdens and making them light, and celebrating the life of these two amazing members of the Suiters’ family.”
The event will go from 4-9 p.m. at the Peteetneet Outdoor Amphitheater and have vendors, food trucks, and family-friendly activities like face painting, a bounce house and balloon art. Live performances will be delivered by the Utah Valley Children’s Choir, Firefly and Standout Studio, Angie Killian, Cherie Call, Brandon Marchand and Higley.
Concert organizers are looking for more vendors to join, and the deadline to sign up is June 17.
“We want everyone to bring their blankets, chairs and giving hearts to this event,” Higley said. “And we’re asking people to register, to sign up and to participate, whether that is to come help volunteer, to be a vendor, or to bring a food truck.”
The two men that will be honored were shining examples of love and service in the community, Higley said.
Brian, who died by suicide on May 7 after suffering a traumatic brain injury, was the type of person who was always looking out for others, ready to give a friend or co-worker a pep talk.
“He was the one that was always like saying, ‘Hey, buddy, how are you doing?’ Like cracking jokes and getting to know people and making them feel comfortable,” Higley said.
Christopher was one of two killed in a May 27 crash, when a vehicle drove over the median on Interstate 15 near Payson and struck his vehicle head-on.
He will be remembered as a fun-loving father who enjoyed adventures in his jeep and bringing people together.
“He was totally out there. Super fun,” Higley said. “He was such a good dad to his boys. Loved them so much.”
They are survived by the family’s mother, Jenn, and four children. Jenn, who is “absolutely devastated,” Higley said, does not have any life insurance and will now be the family’s sole provider.
The community has already supported the family through a GoFundMe campaign, with 692 donations in eight days raising $41,000.
The concert aims to provide the family further financial security while honoring the two men.
“My goal is to help this woman ease the burden of what is happening in her life, just because she’s a mom, and she has a family and she’s now the sole provider,” Higley said. “She is like the mom of the community, the one that gives and gives and gives … and I think that’s why there’s such an outpouring for her, because she has given so much in her life just out of the goodness of her heart, because she cares and loves everyone so much.”
