Mary Helen McKell Abildskov was born June 5, 1924 in Spanish Fork, Utah. She died on April 27, 2018 at age 93.
She grew up the youngest of four children born to Arthur Thomas and Rebecca Nielsen McKell. She moved to Salt Lake City following high school graduation where she lived in the Beehive House and worked downtown at the Corps of Engineers.
She married Junior A. Abildskov on December 4, 1944 in the Salt Lake Temple. The two were known as Mac and Abbie.
After studying at the University of Utah, she supported her new husband through medical school. The couple moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she had their first child, a daughter, then El Paso, Texas, where she had their second, a son, then to Syracuse, New York, where she had their last two children, girls.
In 1968, the family returned to Salt Lake City when Abbie became a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah\s School of Medicine and the longtime director of the Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute.
She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held numerous leadership and service positions in the Primary, Sunday School, and Relief Society.
Faith and family defined her life.
She loved gardening, photography, traveling, and cats.
Those who knew her—casual acquaintances, long-time friends, and the lucky members of her immediate family—were dazzled by her warmth, her intelligence, her elegance, and her generosity.
She is preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Della McKell Beckstrom; her brother, Arthur McKell; and her oldest daughter, Becky Ann Abildskov Houck. She is survived by her brother, Mark McKell; three children, Alan (Katy), Mary Karen, and Marilyn (Matt); three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Burial services will be held at Larkin Sunset Lawn Mortuary, 2350 East 1300 South, on Saturday, May 12, with a viewing at 10 a.m., followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m.
Graveside services will follow.
