Mom killed in flash-flooding incident remembered as fierce businesswoman, adventurer, mentor

SPANISH FORK — Friends, family and employees gathered at a vigil Sunday to remember Katrina Gubler Long, one of five family members killed in a suspected flash-flooding incident in Wayne County this weekend.

Long was known as a fierce businesswoman, gardener, outdoorswoman, hockey mom and fire wife. Friends said she built her life around caring for others while making family her top priority.

"They loved to be out in the mountains, out in the canyons," said close friend and co-worker Meagan Dexter. "Knowing that all of this happened in a canyon just kind of breaks my heart."

The family was camping, hiking and rappelling in the area when the flooding occurred. Katrina Long's daughter, Lydia, was the only family member not on the trip because she was working as a nurse in Kentucky.

"It's very terrible to think of," Sam Butler, Long's business partner, said. "Her and Katrina were very close."

Butler co-founded Summit Medical Spa with Long. Dozens of co-workers, friends and family members gathered at the Spanish Fork location to honor Long with a candlelight vigil Sunday.

"Right off the bat, you can tell that she is business," Butler said. "When you break down her barriers and her walls, she's full of love, life. Her values that she stood for were what made me go into business with her and know that my family was safe, and everybody that we hired as team members were safe."

Butler said she and Long were determined to change the massage and spa field when they went into business together.

"A lot of the things that we did here were because Katrina saw firsthand what search and rescue, firefighters and first responders go through," Butler said. "She wanted to make sure they were OK and that they had people and places to go to where they could express grief and go through things without even having to say a word."

Dexter said Long was a talented entrepreneur and a family-oriented friend. She said Long helped her after she opened up to her about her fertility issues.

"She opened up all of the services," Dexter said. "She's like, 'Go do hormones. Go get your blood drawn, go try all of this.' And she's like, 'Don't worry about it. We want this to happen for you.'"

Friends said Long and her husband, Provo Fire Capt. Spencer Long, created a close-knit blended family. Katrina Long's son, Reid Vernon, and daughter, Lydia Vernon, are from a previous marriage.

"She met Spencer while she was working at Red Mountain Spa," Butler said. "The next thing I knew, she was moving up here because she'd found her Prince Charming, her sexy firefighter. And, he wanted to start a family and love Reid and Lydia like his own. I knew he was good."

The couple's two youngest sons, Thayne and Gage, played hockey and loved spending time outdoors.

"We've done meetings with her at hockey practice, or she's out hiking, or at a haunted hotel sharing their stories," Dexter said.

As loved ones reflected on the tragedy, many spoke about the example the family set through their love for one another, their sense of adventure and their commitment to their community.

"I am so grateful for the opportunity to love her and to know her and to be on this journey with her," Butler said.

Dexter said the family left a lasting impression on everyone who knew them.

"Just seeing their family as a dynamic, all together, was something that I'm like, I hope I have that with my future kids someday," she said.

Authorities have not released additional details about the incident, and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deadly flash flood.

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