Merna Smith

Merna Fowers Smith, 80, died at her home on October 19, 2014.  Merna was born in Hooper on March 25, 1934 to George LeRoy Fowers and Mary Elizabeth Jones Fowers.

She married Ernest Delgarn Smith on December 17, 1953 in the Salt Lake City Temple.  Merna is survived by her husband; 7 children: Julie London, Laurie (Ralph) Lizza, Michael Smith, Cordell (Karla) Smith, Andrew Smith, Marcell (Max) Westergard, Mindy (Nathan) Dalebout and daughter-in-law Jill Smith;  5 siblings: Leila (Stanley) Speigle, Eldene (Dean) Montgomery, Max (Joan) Fowers, Nola Batchelor, Mary Beth (Rex) Buckway;   27 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.    

She was preceded in death by her son, Duane Smith.

She was a lifelong member of the LDS church.  Although Merna served in various callings within the church, her favorite was the many years she served as Sports Director.  She was coach, cheerleader, and taxi driver all in one.  Her teams won many trophies throughout the years, but she instilled in her players that while receiving the championship trophy was great, it was more important to receive the Sportsmanship Trophy.  (For some reason, her teams usually won both.)

Another favorite church activity Merna was involved in was in writing and producing Roadshows.  This was another area where she really excelled.  She always wrote an entertaining show full of fun, song, dance, and humor.  Her Roadshows won many awards throughout the years winning Best Show not only on the Stake level, but also in Area and Region as well.

A member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers (DUP), Merna taught the lessons every other month for a time, and really enjoyed it.  Members of her camp found her to be an especially interesting teacher, and would make it a point to attend whenever she was giving the lesson.

Merna is also a poetry lover, and over her lifetime she has written a lot of poems herself.  Of this talent she once said, “I don’t consider myself a poet but rather someone who is ‘pretty good with rhymes’.”  She was also a good singer, and taught her children and even her grandchildren to sing parts simply by singing with them at church, in the car, or really anytime.  

She liked having a garden to work in and would plant vegetables each spring, and work on the garden throughout the spring and summer months to bring food to her children, teach them to work, and show them the joy of enjoying the fruits of their labor.  She would often plan “Garden Parties,” where the children and grandchildren would be summoned to perform a task at the garden together.  These were times to talk, laugh, work, and enjoy each other’s company while doing tasks such as planting, hoeing, thinning and harvesting vegetables.  

Merna was a good cook, and would often gather her family together to eat and socialize as well.
She was fun.  She would play games, laugh, and sing silly songs.  She loved to gather her family together at South Fork to go tubing down the Ogden River.  She went on countless trips across country to ride on roller coasters.  (Her favorite was Montezuma’s Revenge at Knott’s Berry Farm.)  She traveled extensively, visiting 49 States in her lifetime.  (Sorry, Alaska!)  

Out of everything in life, the things she found most pleasurable and rewarding were her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  She loved them all and lived by the ideal that family is everything.  Out of all of the activities Merna did in her life, creating those bonds with her family was the most important to her.

Merna worked throughout her life, retiring from the IRS.  She had also been employed with the Weber County School Lunch program, and throughout the years, Merna and her husband, Delgarn, owned and operated various businesses, including  EDS Construction, Apartments, Hillcrest Gas, and an Arctic Circle drive-in.  

Funeral services will be held Friday, October 24, 2014 at 11 am at the Municipal Park Ward, 5930 S. 2200 W., Roy, Utah.  Friends may visit the family on Thursday, October 23, 2014 from 6 to 8 pm and Friday, October 24, 2014 from 10 to 10:45 am, prior to the service at the ward.  Interment at the Hooper Cemetery.

The family expresses their deep appreciation to all the medical professionals, especially Dr. Ryan Stewart and his team, for the care they provided to our mother.