Tremonton group to honor Dee Pace with a community arts building

Former Bear River High School teacher Dee Pace third from left died in April of 2020 of complications of COVID-19. Dee and his wife Nedra were serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time of his passing. Members of the community are trying to build a theater complex in his honor.

TREMONTON – A group of Tremonton residents have plans to build a Dee Pace Theater in honor of long-time and respected Bear River High School drama teacher Dee Pace, who died in April of 2020 due to complications of COVID-19. Dee and his wife Nedra were serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the time of his passing he was in a hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Dee Pace a former teach at Bear River High School died in April of 2020 of complications of COVID-19 while serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Pace taught drama for some 15 years, but he also touched lives of students as Principal of Honeyville Elementary, Bear River Elementary and vice principal at Bear River and Box Elder High schools.

The Dee Pace Theater Board is made up of former students and community members trying to raise $2.4 million for the theater complex.

The group is working with an architect to design a 230-seat main stage theater with additional spaces for recitals and a dinner theater.

JuDean Parkinson, a former student, said they are forming a 501C3 to become a non-profit to get the project going. Their web page is expected to be completed by April 5.

“We are in the process of putting together a Facebook and GoFundMe page to raise money,” she said. “We are also launching a brick campaign where people buy a brick and get their name engraved on it.”

The brick will then be put on front sidewalk of the theater. If the person was in one of Pace’s productions he or she can have a star engraved as well.

“We will have a main stage where we can do major musicals,” she said. “We have had dance studios and other groups talk to us already about doing recitals.”

The group has a location picked out, but nothing can happen until the money starts coming in.

“People are really excited about it,” Parkinson said. “We have got nothing but positive feedback.”

She said they will be doing drama camps in the Main Street Theater above the Bear River Valley Museum located at 11 E. Main Street again to help raise funds for the new building.

“We are opening the Main Street Playhouse again this summer to generate funds,” Parkinson said. “And for people who want to donate, can mail a check to the Dee Pace Theater at P.O. Box 295, Tremonton, UT., 84337. Donations can also be deposited at D.L. Evans Bank located at 312 West Main in Tremonton.

“Along with our main stage we would like to have a Carl Ashby room,” Parkinson said. “He was a long-time choir teacher who sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”

Tremonton City manager Shawn Warnke said this group has proved themselves before.

“When our museum burned down and they wanted another one,” he said, “they put one up on Main Street and figured out how to run it without the city’s help.”

Tremonton community members want to build a theater complex in the name of Dee Pace who died in April of 2020 of complications of COVID-19. Dee and his wife Nedra were serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time of his passing.

“I think anything that keeps people here is a good thing,” Warnke added. “When we’ve done surveys on what people want in the community one of the things they wanted was more theater selections.”

There was a small community theater above the museum before.

“I think it was a success. It seemed like they sold out every night,” he said. “I heard great things when that was going.”

For more information about the Dee Pace Theater, contact JuDean Parkinson at (435) 730-3907.

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1 Comment

  • Anonymous April 10, 2021 at 6:39 pm Reply

    This is not an official Tremonton group is just one person that’s trying to gather up money and it’s not the Dee Pace foundation. They don’t even have a spot of land or even money to start this project.

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