Betty Barney Evenson, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 28, 1919, passed away in Salt Lake City on December 31, 2018, at age 99. In anticipation of this event, she wrote the following:
Please take comfort in the fact that I will be at a reunion with family and friends who have gone before me. I will be in the same place with my companion, Nephi N. Evenson, who preceded me in death in 2002. We met while attending Granite High School and were married in the Salt Lake Temple. I will be with my parents, John Forrest Barney and Mary (Lyda) West of Salt Lake City. I am their second child. My siblings include an older brother, John Forrest Jr. and Ruth, a younger sister, both of whom died in infancy, deceased sister Helen (Dell Keddington) and deceased brother William (Bill) and his deceased wife Eulaween. The survivor of my immediate family includes a half-sister, Mary Ann Conrad Shuler of Naselle, WA. Many beloved nieces and nephews have made life happier.
Our first home was in Salt Lake City where our three children were born—Lynn, Jim, Barbara. We moved to Pocatello, Idaho, and while there we had a partnership in Rainbow Ranch, Mackay, Idaho. There are happy memories from many summer family gatherings by the Big Lost River. After retirement, our home was in St. George, Utah. As a widow, I moved back to Salt Lake to be closer to our daughter, my then living brother, and many Barney and Evenson family members.
The families I'm leaving include:Lynn of Boise, Idaho, 4 children, then later marrying Carole Willis and her 4 children; Jim F. (Gayle), Indiana, and their 5 children; Barbara Jeanne Haugs√∏en, Salt Lake City, 5 children. This adds up to fourteen grandchildren plus 4 step-grandchildren. From these families there are 18 direct great-grandchildren.
No matter where we have lived, our lives have been centered in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our lives have been enriched through the callings and events in the various auxiliaries and the many friendships made. We were Church Magazine leaders, Send-a-Book-of-Mormon program directors, and served two missions: an activation mission in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, stationed at DuBois, PA; a stake mission in Bloomington Hills, St. George, Utah. In addition, I have served in various callings in the auxiliaries, including Junior Sunday School, Sunday School, Primary, Young Women (MIA), and Relief Society in all the positions, Cub Scout program, and Relief Society Visiting Teaching. Other callings were to write Ward monthly and annual histories plus Relief Society annual histories. Much of my time has been involved in teaching and researching family history, forming family organizations and writing a number of family newsletters and lengthy histories. I self-published Esther Bathsheba Wright Fletcher Barney Life Sketch in 2009. This is my legacy to my family. In this day of knowing about ancestors via the Internet program, you can find ours on FamilySearch/FamilyTree.com.
I have been a member and an officer of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers organization and received a 60-year membership pin last year. I enjoyed volunteer work in a number of community programs, mainly Red Cross pre-natal classes, Pre-Natal Care for Unwed Mothers through LDS Social Services, blood drives, and pre-school health examinations.
My various interests have included reading anything and everything, camping, fishing, swimming, tennis, golf, and photography. I made my own and children's clothes, including coats, for many years. During WW II when fabric and supplies were in short supply, I used old clothing given me by others.
I had a professional career that I enjoyed. I graduated from the Salt Lake General Hospital Professional Nurse Program at the time of beginning of WWII in Europe. I then worked in various Salt Lake City hospitals as well as in hospitals in Pocatello, Idaho. I later earned degrees at Idaho State University and an advanced degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. I was employed at Idaho State University in the Department of Nursing until I retired. I then served one semester at Ricks College in Rexburg (later BYU-Idaho) as temporary chairman of the two-year nursing program.
Since I believe in lifelong learning I have studied a variety of subjects, both for credit and noncredit. I always enrolled in the various LDS Church Institute classes in Pocatello, St. George and Salt Lake City.
In addition to being in Norway for the births of two grandsons, my travels were to learn more about the people and culture at LDS Church sites, Yucatan, Israel, and Egypt. I joined with a group for a trip to the Philippines to find more about special health treatments.
I have lived in interesting and changing times, both in peace and war. My husband served in the US Army, leaving the day before our second son was born.I have witnessed many changes and the growth in this LDS Church through the years, from a Utah-centered church to a worldwide network, including many new temples.
My Patriarchal Blessing states that I am here in mortal life to serve my family and friends. I hope I have done that. How I love all of you! I have had a blessed life. Please celebrate my life with joy. We will meet again.
A Memorial Service will be held at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E S Temple, Salt Lake City, on Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 11:00 am. There will be a visitation one hour prior to the service and on Friday, January 4, from 6:00-8:00 pm.
Burial will be next to my husband and other Evenson family members in theElysian Burial Gardens Cemetery, 1075 E 4580 S, Millcreek, Utah.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the LDS Church Humanitarian Aid Fund, Missionary Fund, or Perpetual Education Fund.
