Tara Kimberly Mount was born Aug. 9, 1980, in Olympia, Wash., and passed away shortly after her 39th birthday Aug. 26, 2019, while living in Kihei on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
Tara is survived by her parents, Joe and Teri Mount; three sisters, Julie Mount, Natalie Hammond and Tessa Mount; brother, Joey Mount; brother-in-law, Ted Hammond; grandfather, Alfred Nauman; several aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, extended family and many friends.
Tara was welcomed into this world with great joy and was equally a great joy to raise. She rode horses with her parents before she could even walk, was on her dad’s shoulders as a toddler while he water skied and participated in mom/baby swimming lessons. Tara enjoyed water skiing, scuba diving, snowboarding and hiking. She played the piano and flute, loved painting and had a knack for photography. She did well academically while attending W.F. West High School and Running Start at Centralia College, graduating in 1999. In high school, Tara lettered in cross country and basketball.
Her first love was horses. She trained her own foal, joined the Bit-N-Spur 4H Club and excelled on the Lewis County Equestrian State Team. She competed at the Puyallup State Fair seven years in a row, 1993 to 1999, from the ages of 12 to 18, winning many medals and ribbons. She also competed at the Southwest Washington Fair where she was crowned the Lewis County Rodeo Queen in 1999. In college, she participated on the Brigham Young University Equestrian Team.
Tara was an excellent massage therapist for 17 years. She started her practice in Washington, moved to Utah prior to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and eventually settled on Maui where she worked at the Ritz Carlton. Since 2009, Tara lived her second love, the islands, with their ocean, sunsets and beauty for the final decade of her life.
More important than all of Tara’s accomplishments was her ability to show compassion, truly caring about people through their circumstances and struggles in life. She was a giving and loving soul. Tara loved her family very much and they loved her in return. She was a blessing in their lives and they are grateful for the memories. She is a precious daughter of our loving Heavenly Father and is now in His eternal care.
A memorial service will be held
at 2 p.m., Saturday Oct. 19, 2019,
in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel,
located at 2801 Mount Vista Rd.,
Centralia, WA 98531.
