Miriam V. McDaniel

Our sweet mother, Miriam V. McDaniel, passed away quietly on February 4, 2017.  She was born on May 30, 1929, the daughter of Clyde L. and Genevieve Van Wagenen.  She used to tell us that she was so small she could fit in the dresser drawer.  Mother was born in Price but spent a good deal of her young childhood in Ogden.  Mother would tell us how as a child she would roller skate on the sidewalk until it was so smooth that it was dangerous for the pedestrians.  Mother loved skating so much that even at the age of 80 she was very confident that she was as good as ever and should be allowed to go skating.  She was very disappointed when she was told she could not.  Mother learned how to play the piano at a young age and became an accomplished pianist.  She also played the cymbals in the marching band at the University of Utah.  She said she had to play cymbals because a piano was too hard to carry and march.  Shortly before she would have graduated from the U she married Karl J. Hawkins, Jr.  They were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.  They had six children together and were later divorced.

Mother kept very busy with her family.  She was an excellent seamstress and made all the clothes for the family, often times making matching dresses for her little girls.  At Christmas time she would sew like crazy and let us know that she was a special helper to Santa Claus.  She taught piano lessons for many years and instilled a love of music in her children.  Eventually she was able to graduate from the University of Utah and become a school teacher.  She taught History and Drama at Bonneville Junior High School.

In 1982 she met and married Carl C. McDaniel, the love of her life, in the Jordan River LDS Temple.  Together they served as ordinance workers in the Salt Lake Temple and also as missionaries in Nauvoo.  Mother had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and served in many callings but was especially proud of the temple work and family history indexing she was able to do.  She indexed more names than anyone else in the stake.  She also loved to garden.  She took great pride in the beautiful flowers that would grow in her garden.  Whenever you visited her one of the first things she would ask was if you had seen the flowers that were blooming in her yard. 

Miriam is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Carl, and her youngest son, Van.  She is survived by five of her children: Cosette Snarr (Gordon), Yvonne Bent (Frank), Francine Hawkins, Sherri Boog (Bob), and Dwight Hawkins, 13 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren.  Services will be held Saturday, February 11, 2017 at the LDS Chapel located at 720 East 550 North, Bountiful, starting at 11:00 am.  A viewing will precede the services starting at 9:30.