Marie Hughes passed away peacefully on December 27, 2021 in Bountiful, Utah surrounded by many loved ones who filled life with joy. Marie was born on November 8, 1930, in Spring City, Utah to Charles Doyle Olsen and Rozina Marie Neilson Olsen. Marie was the oldest child and only girl. She is survived by her twin brothers Billie Mondell Olsen and Bobbie Donell Olsen, and her youngest brother Richard Lynn Olsen.
Marie graduated from North Sanpete High School in 1949. She learned to sing and play piano at an early age with her mother teaching her duets. She became attendant to the Sanpete Centennial Queen and sang in a trio in the parade. Marie also sang in a small orchestra in Nephi. She performed for Governor J. Bracken Lee the year she graduated high school.
Marie performed with Promised Valley Playhouse, and the Utah Opera Company. She was a member of the Oquirrh Writers Group. She has written countless poems and stories, and had several poems published in writer’s magazines. Marie was an avid doll collector spending years of her life studying doll history. She adored her grandchildren and shared her love of collecting with all of them.
A mother of four, a poet, and a collector of memories, Marie was the author of a truly fulfilled life. She marveled in the everyday joys and inevitable tribulations alike. She brought light into the world with her endlessly cheerful disposition, quick wit, and warmhearted empathy.
Marie is survived by her daughter Cindy Sells Kerr (Lester), and her son Brent Dee Sells (Michelle).
She was preceded in death by two sons – Gary Paul Sells (Leslie), and Joel Benjamin Stewart.
She has 3 grandchildren, Tiffany Turman (Cody), Nicholas Sells (Heather), and Christopher Mebius (Lindsey).
Marie has 5 step-children together with her husband Duane Hughes (deceased). Mark (Melissa) Hughes, Mitchell Hughes, Terry (Colleen) Hughes, Diane (John) Oldham and Douglas (Angelia) Hughes. Altogether she has 23 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2022, 12:00 noon at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. A private viewing will be held prior to the funeral for family and friends from 10:45 am to 11:45 am. Interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery.
To watch services please click on the following link
The family would like to thank the caregivers at Legacy House in Bountiful, Utah for their kindness and compassion.
We would also like to thank a dear friend of Marie’s, Joyce, whose friendship and love was a light in her life and a Godsend for her family.
Dear Cindy and Brent,
I am so sorry for your loss! My condolences to you and your families. Marie was a delight to be around! I was able to get to know her in her later senior years.
I appreciated her wit, talents, and her ability to speak with love and boldness about her life and family!
May you be comforted in this difficult time. It is never easy losing a parent no matter when it happens. You and your families are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Jeanita Thomas