Annette Bunce Mestas

Annette Mestas, a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and a dedicated elementary-school teacher for three decades, died early Sunday morning, December 6, 2020, at home in Kaysville, Utah. She had been in failing health for more than a year before she succumbed to complications from Myasthenia Gravis, a week before her 79th birthday.

She was born Annette Bunce in Moab, Utah, on December 13, 1941, daughter of Erma Allred and Winford Bunce. She grew up in Moab and graduated from Grand County High School in 1960. After a brief start at the University of Utah, she transferred to Brigham Young University, where she graduated in December of 1964 with a degree in Elementary Education.

On February 12, 1965, in Reno, Nevada, Annette married James Thomas (Tom) Mestas, whom she had met several years earlier in Moab, where the Carbon County boy was working a summer job at a service station. Their love story flourished through 45 years of marriage, during which they created a caring, tight-knit family with their daughters Melanie and Hilary. Tom passed away in July of 2010.

Annette and Tom began their life together in Salt Lake City, where Annette taught for five years at Newman Elementary. In 1970, they moved to Southern California, where they lived for 13 years, first in Sherman Oaks and later in Anaheim. They returned to Utah in 1983 and settled in Sandy, where the family lived for a quarter-century. Throughout that time, Annette was a dedicated teacher in the Granite School District, with stints at Taylorsville, Redwood, and Morningside elementary schools. After her retirement, she moved to Holladay, where she lived for a decade, until a succession of health issues began in March of 2019. Soon after, she moved into her daughter’s home in Kaysville, where she was living at the time of her death.

Annette is preceded in death by her devoted husband James Thomas “Tom” Mestas. She is survived by her adoring daughters Melanie Mestas, of Bountiful, and Hilary Rue, of Kaysville. She is also survived by son-in-law Jon Rue and grandsons Bryan and Tyler, Kaysville; sister Merilee Lee (Norm), Kaysville; and brothers Glenn Bunce (Patricia) of Grand Junction, Colo., and John Bunce (Ruth) of Sun Valley, Nevada.

Graveside services are at Noon on Friday, December 11, 2020 at Murray City Cemetery, 5490 S. Vine Street.