“Armi” was born in Fillmore, Utah, to parents, Grover A. Giles and Maybelle James. She was the first born, followed by her sister, Helen, and brother, Grover A. Giles Jr., whose life was tragically ended in an automobile accident at age 23.
Her mother, Maybelle, known by family and close friends throughout her life as “Jimmy,” was a Registered Nurse, who inspired Armi to attend The School of Nursing at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, Armi was forced to return to Salt Lake City, Utah, where the Giles family had moved, and her father’s political career was destined to elevate him to the Attorney General of Utah.
She met Dr. Owen G. Reese, who had been commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander, the ships physician, aboard the USS Hovey mine sweeper, stationed in the South Pacific. They were married on August 4, 1942 just prior to his deployment.
The Hovey returned to dry dock in San Francisco on opportune occasions and in April 1944, a son, Owen G. Reese, Jr. was born. In 1946, Dr. Reese and Armi welcomed a baby girl, Sherilyn, and in 1950, another son, David. Tragedy fell upon the family again, and David passed away in 1995, leaving his family and precious wife, Marsha Bergstrom Reese.
So many trials and life altering sorrows have been sustained by Armi’s deeply rooted faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ. Her testimony of His resurrection and the promise of eternal families was a driving force at the foundation of her life dedicated to family ancestry search and incalculable hours and days and years, as she documented family pedigree charts and prepared names of long passed family members to receive the sacred temple covenants that would open the gates of eternal bonds and families, “Together Forever.” Armorel has been a soulful woman who welcomed the beauty of artistry, as manifested through the musical talent with which she had been blessed. She was the church organist for every ward in which she resided and for many she performed her created piano programs to entertain residents of senior care centers.
Driven by a life-long curiosity and thirst for knowledge, she received a major in music and a minor in Russian at the University of Utah at age 47, graduating in 1965, with honors, named to Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. She also achieved licensing as a paralegal assistant, a Utah insurance agent, a successful realtor for agencies in California and Utah. She spent time in New York City as a certified skin consultant for the Erno Lazlo Institute where she married Dilworth Walker and later divorced.
She has loved and been cherished by her family beyond words. Her legacy includes her children, Dr. Owen G. Reese Jr. (Dr. Adele) and Sherilyn Thompson Price (John Price) and David Giles Reese (Marsha Reese). Her grandchildren Owen Jr. Reese III (Amy Reese), Colin Reese (deceased), Melissa Thompson Snieder (once betrothed Michael J. Snieder), Michael G. Thompson (Mayumi Thompson), and Linda Bambach. Greatgrandchildren Charlie and Milo Reese, Mayla and MacKinley Thompson, and Lauren Davis and Mathew Snieder (deceased). Nieces & nephews Shondra Agee (Ken), Thomas H. Reese (Pat), Elizabeth Cottam (Will), Marilyn Moss (Ed), Gerald Moffit (Suzanne), Paige Wood and John Price’s loving family.
A special thanks to Christie, Teresa, and Laura with Symbii Home Health and Hospice, caregivers Vai Vaitohi and LePolo Uata, and all of Armi’s cherised friends.
A viewing will be held Thursday, Oct 1st at 11:00 AM at the Cottonwood Heights 7th Ward, 6710 S. 1300 E. Salt Lake City, followed by a funeral service at 12:00 PM. Interment at Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Hundreds of books line the cases throughout her home, and binders of sheet music fill numerous closets and file cabinets. Armorel was a loving example of living life to its fullest, and on September 21, 2020, at 102 years old, she slipped away in beautiful peace, accomplishing all she had dreamed of, “under the tree.”
