Stephanie Brewer 2006

Stephanie Brewer, 28, a 1995 graduate of Grand County High School, moved back to Moab from Salt Lake City four years ago and now owns and operates Bliss Skin and Body Works at 59 East Center Street.

“I had originally moved up to Salt Lake after graduation to attend the University of Utah, but I ended up going to school to become an esthetician,” Stephanie recalled. “After a few years of working in Salt Lake as an esthetician, I decided to come back to Moab.”
“The main reason I moved back here was so that my son could be near my parents and grandparents,” added Stephanie. Stephanie’s parents are Corky and Cindy Brewer. Corky, a member of the GCHS Class of 1973, has been Moab’s Fire Chief since 1989, while Cindy (GCHS Class of 1974) now works at Grand County Middle School. All four of Stephanie’s grandparents (Keith and Shirley Brewer and Ron and Joyce Robertson) are also long-time Moab residents.

After working at Parriott’s hair salon for a couple of years, Stephanie decided to start her own business, offering a variety of skin and body services, including facials, massages, and pedicures, along with a full line of skin care products. Stephanie keeps a full schedule at the Bliss shop, assisted by her two employees, licensed massage therapist Ambrosia Brown, and shop assistant Kelsie DeFrancia. DeFrancia, a 2006 graduate of GCHS, plans to keep working at Bliss through the summer before leaving for Westminster College in the fall.

Stephanie is the mother of a 9-year-old son, Koby Sobremesana, who will attend 4th grade at Helen M. Knight Intermediate School this fall. Koby loves playing sports, especially soccer, and is just finishing up his baseball season in the Moab City Rec league. He also takes karate lessons and is adept with computers, including designing his own web pages. After baseball season concludes, Koby plans to spend the remainder of the summer vacation with his dad in Colorado.

Stephanie Brewer 1995

Stephanie was active in GCHS sports and activities while in high school, participating in the drill team and playing softball. A lifelong swimmer, she is now helping coach the dozen or so youngsters on Moab’s new “Sun Devils” swim team, which is scheduled to compete in its first swim meet in Richfield later this month.

The new swim team is being funded by Moab’s newly opened Teen Center, dubbed “Club Red,” where Stephanie serves as a board member and helps with the center’s fundraising efforts.

“It’s been around 15 years since Moab has had any kind of competitive swim team,” she noted. “We’re kind of starting from scratch, but we have some good young swimmers, and we hope to build a strong program in the next few years.”

Stephanie says she hopes that the high school will be able to eventually have a swim team in a few years, but added that a year-round pool is needed.

“They’re still figuring out whether to put a cover on the existing Moab Swim Center pool or build a new indoor pool elsewhere,” she noted. Meantime, she and Teen Center officials Joanna Sewall and Kristi Paul are excited about the fledgling swim program that has just gotten underway. For more information, contact the center at 259-9991.

One of Stephanie’s fondest memories of high school was winning the Outward Bound scholarship and getting to take a 23-day mountaineering course in the La Sal Mountains. “It was an awesome experience, and I feel fortunate to have had that opportunity,” added Stephanie, who also cited outdoor education teacher Steve Hren as a “major influence.”

Stephanie continues to see many of her former high school classmates around town, and is especially close friends with fellow Class of ’95 member Melissa Bailey Byrd and her husband, contractor Ben Byrd (Class of ’96).

Stephanie’s two younger siblings are also both graduates of GCHS. Brother TJ (Class of ’98) works for the Grand County Sheriff’s Office and is currently attending POST training. This fall, TJ is engaged to marry former Red Devil softball pitcher and drill team member Logan Key (Class of ’05). Meantime, youngest Brewer sibling Stacey (Class of ’02) lives in Salt Lake City, where she works as a manager at a men’s clothing outlet.

For Stephanie, moving back to Moab wasn’t a difficult decision to make. “I love the community here and the laid-back atmosphere,” she said. “It’s a great place for my son to grow up, especially since so many of my family are here.”