Joseph Boyer Jarvis (1923-2019) was born on June 1, 1923 in Springville, Utah, to Joseph S. and Mildred Boyer Jarvis. He graduated from Mesa Union High School in Mesa, Arizona, in 1941. After briefly attending Harvard, he obtained his BA from the University of Arizona in 1947, his M.A. degree from Arizona State University in 1950, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1958. In 1955, he met and married Patricia Potts Annand; together the couple had three children.

Boyer Jarvis came to the University of Utah in 1955 while conducting research for his dissertation. He began working at the University of Utah as a teaching assistant and assistant to the dean of the College of Letters and Science that year. In 1956, Jarvis began working at the University of Utah as an assistant professor; he became a full professor in 1967. During his career at the University of Utah, Jarvis held many positions in addition to teaching, including: Associate Programming director of KUED (1957-1960), Assistant to the President (1962-1964); in the College of Letters and Science he served as Assistant to the Dean (1956-1958), Assistant Dean (1958-1960), and Acting Dean (1960-1961). Jarvis retired from the university in 1989.

In addition to his work as an educator, Jarvis was an activist who held roles in many community service organizations and political initiatives. He sat on various boards, including: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Utah, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Salt Lake Branch, the Utah Heritage Foundation, Voices for Utah Children, and the Salt Lake chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG). He also took part in many community service opportunities including being the president of the Adult Education Council of Greater Salt Lake (1958-1959), member of the Board of Directors for Youth Inc. (1969-1975), president of the Salt Lake City Public Library Board of Directors (1976-1982 and 1983-1991), president of the United Nations Association of Utah (1980-1982), and chairman of Utahns United against the Nuclear Arms Race (1985-1986). In 2009, along with former Utah Governor Olene Walker, a consortium of advocates for senior citizens formed to improve public policy. Jarvis was a founding member of the Utah Citizens’ Counsel, a Boyer Jarvis died in 2019.