Obituary of Mary Jane Brown Day
Mary Day, 90, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 26, 2017, at her home in American Fork, Utah.
She was born to Elbert Ray and Zerelda Mae Brown in Pocatello, Idaho on February 25, 1927. She was the fifth of six children raised by loving parents on a small family farm in Tyhee, Idaho. She loved and honored her parents who taught her the value of hard work, the importance of self-reliance, and the eternal nature of the family.
She grew up during the Great Depression when food and money were often scarce, but they always seemed to have a hot meal and enough to share with those down on their luck. Her parents were hard workers and she was too. They taught her to value the important things in life, so she did. They were examples of obedience, and so was she. Mary had a great sense of humor that stayed with her to her dying days. She was quick with an adage, learned from her mother, such as: what doesn’t fatten helps to fill; lazy people work the hardest; and children and fools shouldn’t see something until it’s finished.
At the end of World War II, Mary met Franklin David Day, a strapping young marine stationed at the Naval Ordnance Plant near Pocatello, Idaho. They fell in love and married on November 19, 1947, in the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They enjoyed 65 wonderful years together.
Mary was a faithful and devoted wife, loving mother, and expert home manager. She was a gifted artist, a skilled seamstress, and an expert quilter. Her great love was to research ancestors, document their lives, and take their names to the temple to help them receive saving ordinances. She spent countless hours extracting names from old records to help others piece together their own family histories. Even up to the month prior to her death, she indexed around 3,000 names per month.
She traveled the world with Dad as part of his assignments with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to further religious education. She loved Dad and considered it an honor to support him, travel with him, and testify with him of the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They were equally yoked and are now together again.
Mom and Dad are the parents of five children: Diana (deceased), Janaye, Kent (Danette), Julene, and David (JoLyn); the grandparents of 11; and the great-grandparents of 21. She has one living sister, Beverly. She is loved and admired by all for her conviction to her principles, for her humor, and for how she endured to the end.
Her husband, daughter, parents, four siblings, and a great-grandson preceded her in death.
Funeral services will be held Friday, June 2, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS Church at 949 N. 540 W., American Fork. The family will receive friends Thursday June 1st from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Anderson & Sons Mortuary, 49 E. 100 N., American Fork, Utah, and at the church Friday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Burial in the American Fork cemetery.