Mary LaNece Weber Ballif

LaNece Ballif passed away at her Bountiful, Utah, home on March 20, 2024, in the loving care of her family. She was 90 years old. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, “grandma-great,” sister, aunt, and friend. LaNece was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Lawrence Franklin and Leone Augusta Barrus Weber. Her childhood on the family farm in Star Valley, Wyoming, was full of cold winters and warm memories of singing and spending time together with “Mother and Daddy” and her beloved siblings. When her father passed away in 1949, LaNece’s family moved to Logan, Utah, where she attended Logan High School and met her sweetheart Don Robert Ballif.  The two married in the Logan Utah Temple in 1951. LaNece was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and faithfully supported her new husband during his 2.5 year mission to France in 1953. She later served two missions with Don for the Church of Jesus Christ to Kirtland, Ohio, in 2000 and 2003, which furthered her love of early Church history. LaNece also served faithfully in numerous Church callings throughout her life. She and Don settled in Bountiful in 1964, where they spent almost 50 years together raising their family before his passing in 2012. 

LaNece lived a life characterized by service to, and care for, others. Because Don often traveled for his work in the transportation industry, LaNece took on the lion’s share of work at home. With her deep and abiding love of the Gospel, incredible work ethic, endless patience, and wry sense of humor, she raised her sons and daughters to love their Savior, Heavenly Father, and one another. She was devoted to them, and they wholeheartedly returned that devotion.  

LaNece had a great love for reading, especially her scriptures and Church history books. Her passion for history, love for family, and testimony of the Gospel inspired a lifelong interest in family history and genealogy work. Over the years, she researched thousands of family names from her Swiss ancestors for temple work. LaNece had a green thumb and spent many summers tending her large backyard garden and apricot trees, often sharing her harvest with friends and family. She also loved springtime flowers and took great pride in maintaining her front yard flower beds. She was a kind and generous neighbor, frequently delivering plates of her famous sweet rolls to those in need of cheer. 

As LaNece and Don’s family grew to include numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, LaNece continued her devotion to family. She hosted countless family dinners, welcomed grandchildren for single afternoons or entire summers, and supported family members in their performances, sporting events, baptisms, weddings, and other life events. In her later years, LaNece instituted monthly Family Home Evening gatherings where she could sometimes be prevailed upon to yodel, to everyone’s endless delight. As she observed her posterity at these gatherings, LaNece often remarked, “I’m so blessed,” but it was we who were blessed to have her as a kind, generous, enduring anchor in our lives. 

LaNece was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Don, her children Donece and Jeff, her siblings Sterling, Rex, Nola, and Arlene, and five grandchildren. She is survived by her sister Karen, five children, and seven beloved children-in-law: Don Mark (Jill) Ballif, Todd (Lynette) Ballif, Karen (Dorran) Sampson, Verena (Klayne) Rasmussen, Lisa (Steve) Coy, Neil Spencer, and Carole Argyle. Her posterity includes 32 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren with one on the way, and one great-great-grandchild on the way.  

Funeral services will be held Friday, March 29, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., at the Bountiful Utah East Stake Center, 650 East 2150 South, Bountiful, Utah. A viewing for friends and family will be held from 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. at the Stake Center prior to the service.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Mortuary Live 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.