Genevieve spent her life seeking freedom and truth.
Born in Autun, France, to Jules and Jeanne Argault, Genevieve almost went through life as "Edouarette." She was always grateful the French Government required children to be named for Catholic Saints; she became Genevieve Edouarette. Her family always called her "Eddie," after her mother's beloved brother, killed in the First World War.
Genevieve grew up in Orleans, just three blocks from the beautiful cathedral where Joan of Arc is honored. She learned to swim in the Loire River, a mile away. Genevieve, her parents, and older sister, Renée, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France. She was baptized at age 8.
Six years later, to escape the coming war, the family left France. Unable to obtain visas to the U.S., the family went to Neuquen, Argentina where they were given free land to farm—a hard and poor life, though Genevieve loved the animals.
At 16, she convinced her mother and sister to join her dangerous escape from their increasingly abusive father. They hid in Buenos Aires, where—without secondary education or skills—they worked on the factory floor. Mother Jeanne told them to see who was making more money and, during breaks, observe and learn that skill. When positions opened, they were prepared to move up. They learned to type on a library book page. Genevieve added a mastery of Spanish and English to her French, learning to take shorthand in all three. Eventually, she worked in the French Embassy in Montevideo. They lived with extreme frugality, saving every penny to come to America.
Just when the three women had saved enough to come to the States, Genevieve was called to serve as the first sister missionary in Uruguay, so her ticket money went to her mission. She worked in the mission office for 2 weeks before a companion sister was called. During her mission, her mother and sister were able to save money for Genevieve to join them, first landing in Canada, where she worked for the U.N. and then moving to Provo.
At BYU, she met and married Arturo De Hoyos. Both graduated in Sociology then went to Michigan State, where Genevieve received a Master of Social Work degree. She worked as a social worker for a few years then commuted from the family home in Indianapolis to Bloomington to complete a PhD in Sociology, at Indiana University. She taught at Butler University until 1968, when both Drs. De Hoyos were recruited to teach at BYU. Genevieve and Arturo were a great professional partnership, successfully using their different and complementary strengths in research and writing.
Along with her faculty duties, while in Provo, Genevieve did genealogy, indexing, and temple work. And she wrote. She wrote a book supporting the Prophet's call to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, which played a pivotal role in the effort. She wrote the definitive work on the Plan of Salvation in Spanish. She wrote many scholarly articles. Genevieve was recruited for the first graduate faculty of the BYU School of Social Work. Later, the director said, "We could never replace her."
Genevieve was close to her mother, who lived with the family through the years, helping to take care of the 3 daughters while Genevieve pursued her education and profession.
One of the best collaborations of their life together, Genevieve and Arturo opened the Mexico Tijuana Mission in July 1990. They loved serving the missionaries and people of Mexico. An atypical mission president's wife, Genevieve spent countless hours teaching and counseling missionaries and the Mexican saints.
Both were master teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Genevieve's brilliant, analytical mind took her deep into doctrinal understanding. Her missionaries, students, friends, and family were blessed by her love and wisdom.
Genevieve always credited her mother for being a chainbreaker—saving the family from intergenerational patterns of abuse. However, just as much credit goes to Genevieve for having absorbed the abuse of her father, yet giving only love and service to her family and others. Thank you, Mom/Grandma.
Genevieve is survived by three daughters, Sylvia (Stephen Coates), Lili (Christian Anderson), and Jan (Stephen Tolman), 17 of 18 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren, with three more coming in the New Year.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 29, 2017 at 11 a.m. at the LDS Boulter Chapel, 13006 S. Boulter Street, Draper. Viewings will be December 28, 6-8 p.m. and December 29, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Interment at East Lawn Memorial Hills, Provo.
