Dolores Adamson Simons

1929 ~ 2022


Private family in-person gathering


Funeral Services via Zoom

Mar 18, 2022 11:00 AM

Dolores Adamson Simons passed away on March 9, 2022, at the age of 92. Born April 4, 1929, in Highland, Utah, she was the first child of Martell David and Etta LaRee Greenwood Adamson. Her sisters Shirley and Carole, and brother David, followed after her. She attended schools in Spanish Fork, Utah, and graduated from Spanish Fork High where she excelled in Theater and Music. The quote written for her in her senior yearbook stated: “Sweet and witty and loved by everyone.”

For several summers during her teenage and young adult years, Dolores worked at the lodge at Bryce National Park. Both her sisters later did the same, and her brother worked at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This tradition continued with all three of her children, as well as numerous nephews and a niece, working at either the North Rim, Bryce, or Zion National Park. The legacy she started grew to an estimated combined 125 summers at national parks from members of her extended family.

She attended both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah before graduating from the U with a bachelor’s degree in Education in 1952. She taught English at West High School in Salt Lake City, where she was also given responsibilities for Speech Activities, the Drama Club, and the Assembly Committee. Her being hired for so many duties at her young age (she was just 23 years old) helped fill a void that had been created by male teachers going off to fight in the Korean War.

She loved to recount some of the more unique experiences she had at West High, including taking a knife away from a student during one class, and in another class, picking up a mouse by the tail and discarding it so her students would not think she was afraid. Because she was on the short side, and young, an administrator mistook her for a student her first day on the job, and on another occasion, a senior boy, thinking she was a cute classmate, asked her out. Then there was the time that several burly football players took matters into their own hands and physically removed a disruptive classmate. Dolores never knew what they did to the boy, but the former misbehaving student never gave her a problem again after that incident.

In the early 1950s, she embarked on a new adventure when she and a few friends went to Washington, D.C. where she worked at Georgetown University as well as the Pentagon. It was during this time that she met Harold Wayne Simons in the local ward. They were married on February 21, 1955, in the Salt Lake Temple.

She and Harold welcomed their first child, Scott while living Back East. They later moved to California and Kevin and Janine joined the family. While living in Mission Hills, in the greater Los Angeles area, Dolores had the privilege of singing with the Mormon Choir of Southern California. Music had been and continued to be a great love of her life. She lamented that her voice gave out in her later years, although her daughter Janine recalls listening to her mother make the effort to join in with the congregational hymns during a Christmas program just a few months before her passing.

In 1970, Harold and Dolores began what would be the greatest adventure for themselves and their children. At the time, the Peace Corps, which formerly had accepted only single adults as volunteers, opened their doors to admit married couples with children. Harold and Dolores saw this as an opportunity of a lifetime and took the plunge. The family was assigned to work and live in Colombia, South America. Harold had served a Spanish-speaking mission, but Dolores had no familiarity with the language. But when assigned to teach English at a girls’ boarding school, she put aside her fears and offered not only her love of teaching, but also her love of the youth, and impacted the lives of many students once again.
Being a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia had its unique challenges. Dolores and Harold and their children lived vastly different lives from other Americans living there at the time, the majority of whom were rich and worked for large corporations. But Dolores never let that deter her from doing what needed to be done. She would often ride the local bus to the central market, with three woven baskets in hand, to buy fresh produce right alongside the maids of those wealthy families.

During the Christmas season of 1971, mudslides washed out the pipes bringing fresh water into the city of Bucaramanga where they lived. For three weeks, the family learned to ration river water brought in by the local army, as well as to cook with bottled water. When the water was restored on Christmas Eve, the family rejoiced in the miracle of having fresh water once again. When they returned to the United States, Dolores wrote of this experience for the Deseret News’ annual “Christmas I Remember Best” contest and her entry was published as one of the winners that year.

The family returned to Utah in 1972 where Dolores worked as the head cashier at LDS Hospital for a short time, and then returned to her teaching roots by working for the Young Mothers’ program in the greater Salt Lake area. She loved being able to offer an education to many young women who might normally have dropped out of school to have their babies. This experience led her to return to school herself and she received her master’s degree in Social Work in 1978 at the age of 49. She worked in school districts in Utah, had her own private practice, after having moved to Oregon, and worked with LDS Family Services in Idaho. Her compassionate heart and listening ear were a great blessing to many individuals.

While living on the Oregon Coast, she and Harold had one more adventure when they lived in a manufactured home on 14 acres where they enjoyed the natural beauty of the region including many animals that came to visit. They also loved walking the nearby beaches, looking for agates. They then moved back to Idaho and lived in the small town of Weiser where they volunteered with the National Old-Time Fiddlers’ Festival for many years. After 18 years in Weiser, she and Harold moved to South Jordan, Utah to live in the Sagewood at Daybreak retirement community where she was living at the time of her passing.

Dolores loved to cook well into her 90s and could turn leftovers into a gourmet meal in record time. She also loved books from an early age. One elementary school teacher wrote that she was an exceptional reader. As an adult, she would frequently check out 6-8 books at a time, finishing them in a matter of days before returning for more. Dolores had read so many books, that she would often forget that she had read one until she was well into it. She set an example of the importance of literacy for her posterity. Frequent moves necessitated getting rid of boxes of books, something she regretted doing as recently as a few weeks before her passing.

Dolores was a member of the Sagewood Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was loved by many.
She is survived by Harold, her husband of 67 years; her sisters Shirley Manwaring and Carole Ziegler; her son, Scott (Diana); her daughter, Janine; eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, as well as a daughter-in-law, Loa Cyr and son-in-law, Randy Creager. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother David Adamson; a son, Kevin Simons; and granddaughter Melissa Simons.

The family wishes to thank the administrators and staff of Sagewood at Daybreak Retirement Community, as well as the compassionate care she received in her final days from caregivers at Canyon Home Care and Hospice.

A private family in-person gathering will be held on March 18, 2022. The service will be live-streamed via Zoom beginning at 11:00 am MDT that day and can be accessed using the link located at the top of the page. Interment will follow at Larkin Sunset Gardens in Sandy, Utah.

A video of her life, “Dolores Adamson Simons 1929-2022,” can also be viewed at https://youtu.be/igcTlN0vKEc


Guestbook/Condolences

A lovely, caring person to many and all. A great mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She will be missed by her family and many others. My condolences.


- Randolph Creager

Janine, what a wonderful life your mother had! This is a beautiful obituary of a life full of service and love. She raised a wonderful daughter too!


- Julie London

What a beautiful tribute to your mother. And what a full and wonderful life she lived. Thank you for sharing her story with us. I can only imagine how much she will be missed. May you each be filled with peace knowing how much you are loved by her.


- Paula Manwaring

It was a lovely service celebrating the life of an incredible lady. Your mother was an amazing person she such a remarkable life. What a noble lady. Thinking of you and your family and wishing you moments of peace and comfort as you remember this dear soul that was so close to you. Sending healing prayers and comforting hugs. Janine it's really amazing how much you resemble your mom in appearance. she has left a great legacy in you.
Bryce G. Palmer


- Bryce Palmer