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Larkin Mortuary, 260 E South Temple, Salt Lake City, UtahSunday Mar 30, 2025 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
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Devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Lorna Cox Wood passed away peacefully on March 24, 2025, at the age of 93.
Lorna was born on February 28, 1932, to Melvin Eugene and Harriet (Hoyt) Cox in St. George, Utah. She grew up alongside her three siblings, Mona, Norman, and LoLeta, learning the value of hard work at the family-owned Arrowhead Department Store. Lorna met Lowell Dale Wood while visiting a friend who was attending Brigham Young University. They were married in the St. George Utah Temple on July 8, 1955. At their temple sealing, Lorna sang “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go,” a hymn that became emblematic of their life together.
After their wedding, the couple moved to Glenwood, Alberta, Canada, where Lowell worked on the family farm and where four of their five children were born. In pursuit of Lowell’s education, the family moved to Bozeman, Montana, and then to Berkeley, California, before settling in Provo, Utah, where Lowell became an agricultural economics professor at BYU and welcomed their youngest child.
Lorna was a devout and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From July 1979 to 1982, Lowell served as the Mission President of the Johannesburg South Africa Mission and thus began their international life together. After a brief return to the U.S., Lowell’s work and Church service took them to Auckland, New Zealand; Hong Kong; Manila, Philippines; and Sydney, Australia, as well as many other countries. Lowell passed away on March 7, 1997, and Lorna returned to the United States after many years of living abroad, continuing to go where the Lord guided her.
In the years following, Lorna made her home in Salt Lake City, where she was surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She developed a deep love for family history, spending nearly two years scanning and cataloging photos of her family and friends from across the U.S. and Canada, ensuring that future generations would have access to those precious memories. She also self-published a book about her life, filled more with photographs than text. Lorna loved to explore estate sales, cherished weekly Sunday dinners at her daughter’s home, and loved attending plays and musicals with her children and grandchildren. She never missed an opportunity to bear her testimony of the gospel.
Lorna was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, her beloved husband Lowell, and her daughter Paula Jean Wood Rowberry. She is survived by her children Kyle Rowberry; Alisa Wightman (Mark); Brett Wood (Allyson); Tony Wood (Cynthia); and R. Scott Wood (Aren); along with 19 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank Legacy House of Taylorsville and Inspiration Hospice, specifically Wendy Selmos and Elizabeth Chela for their loving kindness and tender care of our mother.
Funeral services will be held at the Heritage Park 1st Ward building 4986 South Valois Drive, Taylorsville, UT on Monday, March 31, 2025, at noon. A viewing will be held at Larkin Mortuary 260 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT on Sunday, March 30, 2025, from 6 to 8 and again prior to the funeral at the church in Taylorsville from 10:30 to 11:30.
Those wishing to view the service via Zoom can click "Watch Services" or follow the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/65NwtoGAiOdt5xAcFGiFyRUtUvyWKly0nl7OFXuW5zcJ-eHVZ33ZCX2lbUMZRELM.m80pFzQ6JqXkXqBB?startTime=1743442537000
Guestbook/Condolences
Thinking of the Woods family at this tender time. So very grateful for the example of Lorna Wood in my life. As a young sister missionary serving in the So Africa Johannesburg Mission, Sister Wood was there with her bright smile, her warmth, and happy disposition. We shared a favorite hobby…. SHOPPING! She will forever be remembered by me for some very sweet, tender times in Zimbabwe and Johannesburg as well as get togethers in SLC. Makes me happy to think of Lorna joining Lowell and other loved ones who have passed on, and have been waiting for her.
With gratitude and love,
Elizabeth Manning McCombs
So sorry to hear about Lorna. my mother Dorothy Cox Tobler was a cousin as well as myself. Prayers and love goes out to the family. What a reunion they are having in heaven.
Love aunt Lorna she was always there for me in thought and prayers. A beautiful and elegant lady .i will miss her.
I am so sorry to hear of Aunt Lorna's passing, my deepest condolences to her family and all who loved her. I cherish my memories of her and am especially grateful for the positive influence she had on my life.
When I was a teenager, Aunt Lorna asked if I had made the plastic bead necklace I was wearing or maybe it was a friendship bracelet. Holding up her strand of pearls, she asked if I'd like to learn how to make one like hers. Instead of fishing line and plastic, she taught me how to string pearls one at a time onto silky thread securing each with a snug knot. She even gifted me a bag of imperfect or leftover fresh water pearls to step up my necklace making. On occasion I return to jewelry making and put those skills to use. The pearls she gifted me have been strung into necklaces I gave away and others I've taken apart to make them something new. Those oblong, mismatched seed pearls evoke her stories of shopping for pearls in Hong Kong and my fascination with her life that seemed so exotic and far out of reach.
Her stories fueled my desire to travel to and live in far flung places. In fact, her and Uncle Lowell's contacts and reputation in Australia helped me get an externship in Sydney. Even as a distant relative, I was generously offered housing, meals, rides and warmly welcomed by people who loved and admired them. That summer (winter there) kick started my legal career and gifted me lifelong friendships. Not to mention the lingering urge to move to Sydney if given half a chance.
I’m grateful to have been touched by the kindness and generosity of this singular woman. I’m also pretty sure she and my grandpa (her brother Norman) will be back to swapping stories again soon.
What a wonderful lady, aunt, and sister to my mom! I always looked up to her for her elegance and loving nature. I loved to be around Aunt Lorna and was always excited when all of you came to visit. She has lived an amazing life and has been an inspiration to all of us. I'm sure there was a beautiful reunion as she joined Uncle Lowel, Paula, and the rest of our heavenly family. We can live in the knowledge that she is now at peace and always with us in Spirit and in our hearts. Big hugs to all of the family!
As our Mission Mother, Sister Wood made us always feel at home. She was fun. A few years ago she and Judy Bester Brummer took me shopping. I needed a new clock for a wall. Sister Wood insisted I buy a clock that was about 3ft×4ft. Huge. It weighed a ton. It took all 3 of us to get it in and out of the shopping cart. It hangs in our kitchen still and is a reminder of Sister Wood.
That was such a beautiful service. I wish I could have been there. I'm sorry for your loss but we are so blessed toknow we are going to a better place to family we have missed..
I'm so grateful for being her niece and being able to go to Canada twice. Somme of my best memories are from there. I love your family and morn with the loss but rejoice that we will all be together again some day.❤️
I express my love and condolences to Lornas family. It's hard to lose your mom.
I had the privilege of being Paulas Mother-in-law the last 20 years of her life. I met her mother Lorna for the first time at her grandson Scott Rowberrys wedding. We immediately connected spiritually. At every Rowberry function we were drawn together. We had a lot in common. We both left our families and traveled to other parts of the world with our husbands to serve the Lord. I loved her graciousness, her strength and her deep love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Lorna was a "People Person" and reached out to everyone with a smile that always radiated her genuine love.
I am sorry she had to experience Dementia the last few years of her life as did my husband Joe Rowberry. It is wonderful to know that once they each left their old sick body, they immediately had their full memory back.
I am grateful for Zoom as I was able to watch Lornas funeral service and learn more about her life.
With much love,
Arlene J. Rowberry.
Lorna was a wonderful friend. Beautiful, fun, nice, smart and spiritual. She was the one who convinced me to buy my condo, partly so we could live close to one another. After her knee surgery several years ago, we would go walking together. That was good for both of us. Like many others, I went to estate sales with her and played games with her. I will miss her a great deal.