Fern Bodily Stokes

Many would agree it is difficult to bid farewell to Fern Bodily Stokes, 84, daughter of Leah Morrison and Elvin Parley Bodily, who was born April 21, 1938, in Franklin, Idaho. She peacefully faded away on July 3, 2022, in Clearfield, Utah. She was the oldest child of five, growing up in Franklin, Idaho, Logan, Layton, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

She was sealed to Lawrence Jay Stokes on December 28, 1956, in the Salt Lake Temple. He preceded her in death on May 10, 2017. She was a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

She was beloved for her famous silent but side-splitting giggle. It was evident from her shaking body. This most often occurred when she was accused of cheating at Pinochle, Phase 10, Mormon Bridge, or Qwirkle. She was a bit of a prankster taking bites out of every piece of chocolate in a box and putting it back, feigning innocence. You may have seen a little body outfitted in black camouflage out “heart attacking, candy-bombing, or sidewalk chalking” birthday victims in the middle of the night. But then again, you may have missed it entirely for when any car drove by or any noise rattled, she could be found prone on the ground. It was most important NOT to get caught.

Fern successfully ran her own daycare out of her home for 30+ years, shaping many little people and encouraging her 5 daughters to share their own toys with the children. She happily earned her nickname “Fernie” which carried over to her grandchildren as “Grandma Fernie”. If you were lucky enough to sample her HOT homemade bread, you had died and gone to heaven (which btw is now only available in heaven ߘ‰ )

She and Jay served an LDS mission to the New York, New York South Mission (1995–1996) under the direction of President Walter Bailey. Their daughters were only too happy to pay them a visit when they received word they were being transferred to Bermuda. She often talked about the beautiful people there. When it came time for us girls to cruise to Bermuda for that visit, they had been transferred back to New York. We spent a couple of hours with them before embarking when we realized we were sailing out of New York.

In 1997, she and Jay were called to be ordinance workers in the Salt Lake Temple and served there for many years. She served in many callings throughout her life: Relief Society President, Primary President and Young Women’s President to name a few. Fern loved to take Institute classes and remarked what a blessing it was in her life increasing her knowledge of scripture.
Fern had an avid interest in her family history and often, within moments of meeting someone for the first time, would take great enjoyment in listening to that individual’s history and sought for familial connections to them. She spent a significant amount of time gathering the stories of her ancestors, compiling them together for temple work and for the enjoyment of her progeny. We suspect she hunted down Sarah Goode Marshall right away when she passed through the veil to get her autograph. She could recall countless stories of her ancestors and loved to share them with everyone. She was a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

She was preceded in death by her grandson Caleb Lemperle, her granddaughter Whitney Nelson, her great-granddaughters Jeannette and Lily Harris, her brother-in-law, Tom Dunroe, and her sister-in-law Maxine Bodily.

She will forever be remembered by her children: Kayleen (Terry) Carter, Sharon (Howie) Nelson, Connie (Michael) Clawson, Sherice (David) Lemperle and Alecia (Ross) Harris, as well as by her 28 grandchildren and 54 great-grandchildren and brothers O’Dell, Kevin, Richard, and sister Shayla.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, 2022, at the Rose Park North Stake Center, 1155 North 1200 West, Salt Lake City. There will be a viewing Friday evening, July 15, 2022, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and one preceding the services from 9:45-10:45 a.m. Saturday morning, both at the Stake Center. Burial services will take place in the Centerville City Cemetery after the funeral.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page and on this obituary page. The live stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the service and will be posted below.