Gale Ann Ellston Arntz

Our exceptional mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and wife left us on January 5, 2022 at 8:00 AM. Mom very much lived a code of devotion to God and family. She loved our savior Jesus Christ and found daily comfort in his sacrifice for us. We know she loved and prayed for each of us. Mom was born on December 8, 1938 in Providence, Rhode Island. She had just turned 83 before she died. Mom was just a teenager when she met dad at a home show where she was demonstrating some type of kitchen product. There are funny stories about them that we’ve been told throughout the years. Like when on one of their first dates my mom was rambling on about who knows what when finally dad turned to her and said “you know, if you don’t have anything important to say, …”. My parents struggled like many do in the early years. She once said recently “I really didn’t like being married for the first twenty years. But then it started to be okay. And, now, it’s better than ever”. I guess you can get away with saying that when you’re married 64 years. She was only 18 when they married. Mom was raised Catholic and went to an all girl Catholic high school. Dad, although not terribly active at the time, was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and mom made him promise that religion would be important in their lives. Rather than wait for dad to convert to Catholicism, mom converted to Mormonism and the two of them made a commitment to a spiritual life and a life of faith that endured to the end. They were eventually married in the Temple of the Lord for time and all eternity. She had tremendous faith. Her first advice for almost anything was to pray about it. If one of us lost our keys she would recommend praying about it. She believed that was the solution to everything. She’d call back a few minutes later and ask “did you check under your car?” Of course the keys were under the car. Mom had a deep love for all of us that she reaffirmed every time we spoke. She was proud of all of us. Mom was a housewife until nearly all of her kids were grown at which time she started working as a cashier at the Church Office Building. She loved coming in contact with general authorities and apostles of the church. She took initiative and would write them letters and they would respond. It wasn’t uncommon for her to text scripture passages to her kids based on spiritual needs. We saw our mother pray with our father virtually everyday. She was a great example of a disciple of Jesus Christ and we will miss her. Mom is proudly survived by her husband David, her children Mark, John, Breen and Kristi as well as 16 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 15, 2022 at the Orchard 5th Ward, 3599 South Orchard Dr., Bountiful, Utah, where a viewing will be held from 9:45-10:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment- Memorial Lakeview Cemetery, 1640 Lakeview Drive, Bountiful, Utah at 1:00 p.m.

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