Neola Zahner McCall passed into the loving arms of her husband and her Heavenly Father on Wednesday, August 31, 2005. Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, neighbor and friend, Neola engaged life with a genuine and inspiring love. She will be deeply missed by those whose lives she enriched throughout her 84 years of mortality.
Most recently a 20-year resident of Centerville, Utah, Neola Zahner was born to Johann Gottlieb Zahner and Barbara Rosina Stucki on a beautiful spring day in Utah?s Dixie, on April 20, 1921. She was the youngest of 21 children. She embraced life and learning, graduating from BYU with a teaching degree and subsequently teaching in New Harmony, Utah. It was there she waited three long years for Walter, her fianc, while he served in the Armed Forces in World War II. Married in the St. George Temple, they settled in Las Vegas, Nevada. There they raised three children. Judy, Gary, and Debbie. While in Las Vegas, Neola was responsible for starting the first government Headstart program in Las Vegas. She then started a Jewish kindergarten program for Temple Beth Sholom. Under her care as Principal, it began as one classroom and flourished into 8. Its reputation was that of the best private kindergarten programs in Las Vegas. It is still in existence today. She left Las Vegas because her husband was transferred to Utah with the Union Pacific Railroad. She has been a volunteer at Lakeview Hospital for over 30 years and received awards for her outstanding work there. She could be found there every Wednesday afternoon, and it was there, on this Wednesday, where sudden heart failure took her from her friends and family here on Earth.
Neola dearly loved her family and her temple work. She and Walter worked many years in the St. George and Salt Lake temples. More recently she served in the Bountiful temple. Her legacy passes to her three children, Judy Dennis Knoles of Centerville, UT; Gary Colleen McCall of Burley, ID; and Debbie David Bernhisel of Farmington, UT. Her love will forever be revered by her 14 grandchildren and more than 16 great-grandchildren, as they recall a selfless woman who often taught lessons of pulling taffy, braiding egg bread, and loving without limits.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 3 at the Centerville Chase Lane LDS Chapel, on 1125 North 400 West in Centerville, UT, with Bishop Stanford officiating. Friends and family may call from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday at Russon Brothers Mortuary on 295 North Main Street in Bountiful, UT; or on Saturday from 9:45-10:45 at the Chase Lane LDS Chapel. Interment-Centerville City Cemetery. Online guest book at www.russonmortuary.com.
Visits: 8
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors