Nisha Isabel Hood

Nisha Hood

Cedar City, Utah

Nisha Isabel Hood, 29, passed away February 25, in Cedar City. She was born August 24, 1984 in Murray, to Mitchell Hood and Vanda Levie. Although her life was short, it was filled with adventure, travel, and achievement.

Nisha spent most of her formative years in a small ranching community in Southeastern New Mexico. She loved the animals and the outdoor life and the excitement of branding calves and shearing sheep and showing horses. She was an excellent horseman and won many local and state trophies. Nisha was constantly learning new things and she participated in everything available to a 1A community: 4-H (where she received showman of the year), basketball (where she was the shortest JV player and still in 6th grade), band (she played the trumpet), piano lessons, regional spelling bees, academic bowls, and state science fairs to name a few.

Nisha moved to Utah in 1996 and attended Woods Cross High and she graduated from Richfield High School in 2001. While in high school she traveled in Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, and France. After graduation she spent over a year working in Germany training horses at a large ranch on the North Sea. In 2006 she joined the National Guard Air Force and was chosen to be in the Intelligence Division as a Linguist. She was stationed in Monterey, California where she learned to speak, write, and translate the Middle Eastern language Farsi. After graduating second in her class, she returned to Utah to work at Hill Air Force Base. In 2008 Nisha was awarded Airman of the Year for Utah Air National Guard. She remained at the base until she was discharged from service in 2012.

Recently Nisha was attending college at SUU where she was majoring in communication. While attending school full time she worked as the news editor at the University Journal. Last semester she had been chosen to represent SUU at an International Women’s Conference in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. She spent her free time learning the art of photography and enjoying the beauty of Southern Utah. No matter what Nisha choose to do she would become of the best at it, always at the top of her class in every arena.

Everyone who knew Nisha will miss her smile, her wit, her contagious laughter and her uncontrollable yet darling red curls. We love you Nish and think of you often until we meet again.

She is survived by her parents: Vanda (Clabe) Jones, Joseph; Mitchell (Danielle) Hood, Centerville; siblings: Luke Hood, Chelsea Hood, both of Centerville; Portia (Jordan) Terry, Rebekah (Corban) Fitzgerald and Levie (Rochelle) Jones, all of Cedar City; grandparents: Robin & Luanna Hood, Bountiful; Allen & Iwalani Levie, Sevier.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. in the Joseph Ward, 50 North Center, Elsinore, where friends may call from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Burial will be in the Joseph Cemetery with military rites by the Utah Honor Guard. Funeral Directors: Magleby Mortuary, Richfield, Salina and Manti.