Freda Neukam

Freda May Neukam was born on September 9th , 1934, in Rogerson, Idaho. She was the seventh of eight children, four boys and four girls. In 1941, her mother, Retta May West, passed away unexpectedly. Freda and her younger sister, Verla, went to live with their older sister Lillian and her husband Otto Jones, who had two children, Otto Jr. and Odenda. The four children were raised as siblings, and the family spent the next few years moving around Nevada and California looking for work in mines, often accompanied by Freda’s older brothers and their families.

In the winter of 1949-1950, the family moved to Pioche, Nevada, and Freda graduated from Lincoln County High school in neighboring Panaca. She continued to live with her sister Lillian until Lillian’s death from cancer in 1969, when Freda moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to live with her younger sister, Verla, and her family. Freda always said that she was an introvert as a young person, and said the traumatic loss of her sister, who had been a mother to her, forced her to grow into the courageous and independent person that she became. She worked a number of jobs but eventually took a position with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where she worked for twenty-five years. She had an apartment in downtown Salt Lake City and walked or rode the bus to work at the Church Offices Building, the tallest building in the city. When her nieces and nephews visited her at work, she would take them to the observation deck at the top of the building, which was always very memorable.

She joined the LDS church in 1951 and went through the St. George Temple in 1959. The church was always very important in her life. She faithfully served in her church wards, and in many callings, including three Relief Society presidencies. She very much enjoyed living and working near Temple Square in Salt Lake, and she visited the temple frequently. The church gave her a strong sense of community, and she was very committed to serving others. The apartment complex where she lived was home to many older people, many of whom lived alone, and Freda spent much of her time visiting and caring for her friends and neighbors.

Freda always took pride in her appearance and insisted on being well dressed and groomed. Her hair was always just the way she wanted it, her nails were always done, and her clothes always meticulously ironed and starched. She even ironed her pantyhose. This meant that she got up at five o’clock in the morning to get ready for work, despite living only a few blocks away. Later in life, she always wore unique hats that she made herself. Her sense of style was deliberate and singular.

She also enjoyed nice cars. As a young woman, she owned a Buick convertible that was legendary in the family, and later, she owned a candy apple red 1965 Ford Mustang that she drove until she quit driving. She didn’t speed, but she went from zero to the speed limit quickly, and was not above throwing a little gravel. Whenever her young nieces and nephews rode with her, she would tell them, “Buckle up for safety!” As an older person, she loved to go for rides in her nephew-in-law’s Porsche.

All of us in her extended family will remember her care and her generosity. She loved to give birthday and Christmas gifts, often books connected to her faith. She kept in touch with the people she loved – in her later years, she would call other older family members daily to check in and share a joke and a laugh. She loved to crochet and loved to share what she had made. Among many other things, she made wonderful, crocheted covers for clothes hangers that she shared with all of us. We all think of her whenever we open our closets. Whenever we told her we loved her, she always said, “Love you more!” It's now our turn to say, “Freda, we love you most.”

Aunt Freda passed away on September 15th , 2026, just a few days after her 92nd birthday, in Salt Lake City, in the home of her niece, Carmel Kelly, who had shared her home and cared for her in her final years. She was the last of her siblings, but is survived by Odenda Jones, who is really more a sister than a niece, and by many, many nieces and nephews (and great and great-great nieces and nephews), who will miss her as an irreplaceable cornerstone of our family.

A Memorial/Open House will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at Sagewood Venue, 10457 South 3200 West, South Jordan, Utah.