Events
Visitation
Larkin Mortuary, 260 E South Temple, Salt Lake City, UtahFriday Apr 11, 2025 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Funeral Service
Larkin Mortuary, 260 E South Temple, Salt Lake City, UtahSaturday Apr 12, 2025 11:00 AM
Listen to Obituary
Beth (Elizabeth Elentari) Taylor, daughter of Susan Lee Embry Taylor and Benjamin Joseph Taylor, died on March 31, 2025.
Beth was born in Redwood City, California, on November 29, 1979, and moved to Utah before she was a year old. She learned to crawl, backwards, at a motel along the way. She grew up in Orem, attending public schools in the city, and then completed a BA in history from Brigham Young University. Afterward she served an 18-month LDS mission in the Michigan Detroit Mission. She was then hired by the LDS Church History Library in Salt Lake City as a secretary, but soon found her way to genealogy, which was her deep passion. She became a Certified Genealogist in 2010. She worked at the library for almost 20 years, helping guests, doing research, and teaching classes that were so popular that people woke up across the world to attend them. She founded DNA Day, developed a missionary training program to help the missionaries improve their genealogical skills, and became the manager of the US/Canada team. It is hard to overstate the impact she had through her work at the library, and she was deeply loved by so many colleagues and patrons there.
Beth was passionate about cats and about pop culture. She enthusiastically attended conventions like Fan X, and cosplayed as Canary and General Leia. She watched every single episode of every Star Trek series. She enjoyed visiting her family, both living and deceased, and was known to drag her siblings to see cemeteries and tell them about their ancestors. She spent a lot of time getting to know her extended family, sometimes traveling around the country to meet various relatives. She played a huge role in maintaining the connections in her immediate family as well, initiating regular family reunions that became a valued tradition. She was deeply generous with her time and her money, and helped her family in all kinds of ways, including flying out multiple times to assist with the moves of family members. She enjoyed photography, and would always be up for pulling over to the side of the road to get pictures of a good view. She was excellent at organizing, and always got assigned to pack things into the trunk of the car. As a kid, she loved to dance, and loved horses. She was particularly interested in women’s history. She loved to learn more about the lives of ordinary people, and felt deeply connected to the ancestors that she learned about. She visited Paris in 2019, and fell in love with the Louvre; she said she wanted to get a master’s degree in the history of the Louvre. She enjoyed having the unusual middle name of “Elentari,” which comes from the Lord of the Rings; it’s the Elvish name for Elbereth, and means “Star Queen.” Beth was both deeply intelligent and incredibly kind and caring. She was straightforward and authentic. Her passing leaves a huge hole that will never be filled.
A genealogist until the end, Beth oversaw the writing of this obituary, and emphasized the need to include correct information on her headstone.
Beth is survived by her parents and by six siblings: Genevieve, Aaron (Janell), Sheila, Kynthia, Arwen (Matt), and Kathryn, as well as five nieces and nephews, and her beloved cat Shimmer.
The funeral will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 11:00 am, at Larkin Funeral Home in downtown Salt Lake City (260 E South Temple), and there will be a visitation at the same location from 6:00 - 8:00 pm on Friday, April 11. Beth requested that people either send flowers or donate to Reclaim the Records. In addition, the family would love to have any memories of Beth, which can be emailed to beth.taylor.memories79@gmail.com.
Those wishing to view the service via Zoom can click "Watch Service" or follow the link:https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/P35uTe-psVjzfUWRl1IITJ9j6v0jaKOfp2vhXqYZ1wpaWUNKZKSOk337PtYtuJNi.7BpaHBFJP27YOJj-?startTime=1744476091000
Video
Guestbook/Condolences
She will live in our hearts till we meet again. You, her family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Beth was a wonderful young woman and I am grateful to have known and worked with her. She was a valued Morris Center employee as a student of BYU, a kind and generous soul with a cute sense of humor and a great love for genealogy, the gospel and her family. We also worked with some of her sisters and know that you are a very close and loving family. I am sending my love and prayers for peace and comfort to all of you.
My deepest and most sincere condolences to Beth's family and friends. I only met Beth a few times and we had some short conversations, she was a special person with a good sense of humour. We swapped cancer stories once. Though I didn't get to know her very well, I could tell she had a great personality, I know her friends and family will miss her greatly.
Beth will be missed at the FamilySearch Library. She has helped so many! Answering questions, doing trainings and creating lessons. She was always so willing to help! I pray for comfort for your family at this difficult time. There must have been thousands to greet her on the other side. Thanks for sharing her with all of us. ❤️
I have researched my family history since I was 12 years old but when I was assigned to the FamilySearch Library as a senior service missionary, I was privileged to learn from and be mentored by Beth Taylor, who helped me change the very fabric of my thought. She had a great mind, and could remember SO much in terms of record collections, etc., but her ability to analyze and piece together information is legendary. Her passing is search a great loss to me personally and for the FamilySearch Library. It is sad for us but I envision her on the other side of the veil surrounded by so many people she researched and helped others research in her quest to help us all connect our families. Heaven is a little brighter now she is there.
Between the work that Beth did on and for her own family, the work done by people she taught, and the people they continue to teach, the gathering of grateful souls at her homecoming must have been glorious! My condolences to her family and friends. She is loved and missed.
Hi, this is Sheila's friend, Jenny, from the GTU. I wanted to express my deep condolences for the loss of your beloved sister and daughter (and so much more!). I only had the chance to meet Beth a couple of times, but I still remember her laughter. What a beautiful soul. Her love of genealogy inspires me to return to my own ancestors! I send much love to you all from Texas.
So sorry to hear about this. Thoughts and prayers for the family. I am a first cousin to Elizabeth's mother Sue.
I want to express my sincere sympathies to Beth’s, family and friends, and those who worked closely with her. It was a joy and a pleasure to know Beth. I worked with her specifically on three occasions: for family history events for our ward. One activity was down at the family history museum and the other two family history events in our meeting house. One was before Covid. And one was just at the end of Covid. I was feeling overwhelmed with technology, and being new to my calling with an early introductory interest in family history work. It was rather quickly that Beth volunteered to help me using her efforts, her talent, her time, to help for all three events to be at success. She calmed my fears. She was effervescent. She had grace, humor, and poise. And it was a joy to associate with such a friend as her. I also appreciate her love of cats. On the other side of the veil, I’m sure she just does not have family that is waiting for her, her relatives and her ancestors but she has countless numbers of dear souls that she helped save and to do their history work and to help others do their history work. She served as the Savior would serve. She has contributed much to this world, and I’m sure that will continue as she will continue to serve in the next. A strong, true and faithful daughter of God.
Beth,
I cherish the time we spent together in Washington D.C.
Thank you for your many smiles and support.
Your funeral service was beautiful and testimony building.
Love Always til we meet again.
Joan E. Healey
We wish to express our sincere sympathy to family members and loved ones of Beth. Ours was the pleasure and honor of serving with Beth in the FamilySearch Library. Whenever we met with her, she was delightful and willing to help in any way to help in the U.S. Canada Zone. We recognized very quickly her amazing research abilities, and she always had Library patrons in mind, with the goal to give them the best experience possible.
We will always remember her wonderful message to our missionaries in a special morning devotional where she was the featured speaker. She expressed her desire for missionaries to feel free to ask her questions and she committed to help them serve patrons in the best way possible. She was dedicated to her work and was so very devoted to make sure the Lord's work of making families eternal was being accomplished.
Our prayers and love to her family and her library friends,
Doug and Erin Holmes
Paul and Jenna Jackson
Mike and LuAnn Faerber