Rowena Ashton Carter

Rowena Ashton Carter, our dear and beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away peacefully in her home on January 19, 2020 at the age of 94.  She was surrounded by her loving family which is a testament to her life of service and her legacy of love.  Born April 27, 1925 to George W. Ashton and Alice Timpson, she was the oldest of six, born minutes before her twin sister Jeanne.  Her childhood was full of fond memories at her family home and in the surrounding neighborhood on Capitol Hill where she played with her siblings and cousins.  She loved spending time in the summers at the small cabin her father helped to rebuild in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Rowena excelled in music and loved to play the piano and the organ.  The Ashton sisters sang together often and for many audiences. She was a gifted student and loved studying and could always help define words or construct a sentence.  She attended West High School and later graduated from the University of Utah with honors. It was at the "U" where she met her sweetheart, Grant "Lael" Carter. Their magical romance never ended. Lael has always been madly in love with Rowena Ashton.
Lael and Rowena were married on October 1, 1945 in the Salt Lake Temple.  Lael left to serve in WWII right after they were married.  After his return, they moved to Park Valley, Utah where Rowena and Lael both taught at the Park Valley School.  It was also here that Rowena developed a deep and sincere love for her in-laws, Emma and Laurence Carter.   Lael's work took them to many places: Denver, Colorado; Columbus, Ohio; Toronto, Canada; Lafayette, California and then finally back to Salt Lake City, Utah.
While Lael traveled for work, Rowena nurtured, loved and taught their family of six children, excelling at cooking, canning, quilting and sewing. Though her focus was her family and managing her home, Rowena was proficient in shorthand and typing and worked in many secretarial positions over the years.  She was often the personal assistant to Lael and kept his business organized.   Later she worked at the University of Utah Alumni Association where she retired in 1990.  After retiring, Lael and Rowena fulfilled a mission, serving in a branch of the Church in Oban, Scotland.  Their love and influence made a difference for everyone they served.
She was devoted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She loved family history and helped research and find many of her ancestors.  She wrote the stories of their lives, helping to connect her family through all generations.  She served faithfully in many callings in her ward and stake, both in the Primary and Relief Society but her greatest passion was studying the scriptures and preparing for teaching Gospel Doctrine in Sunday School or early morning seminary.  She was a woman of great faith and had a powerful testimony of the restoration and truthfulness of the Gospel.  She knows God's plan and is now surrounded by loving family and friends on the other side celebrating as the burdens of mortality are behind her.
Rowena's greatest accomplishment was not financial, academic or some remarkable personal talent but in her legacy of faith.  Today each of her posterity would indeed "arise up and call her blessed" as the needle work above her kitchen sink proclaims.
Rowena is survived by her husband (Lael) of 74 years, daughter Cherie (Irv Rencher, deceased), son Grant (Stephanie Gill), son Roger (Kathryn Crawford), daughter Renee (Camron Craigo), daughter Carrie, son Mitchell (Paula Stout), 23 grandchildren and 80 (soon to be 81) great-grandchildren.  She is also survived by her sisters Lorraine Wilkinson and Linda Roberts (Dave) and sisters-in-law, Luana Heaton and Marvell Hirschi.
Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m., Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Foothill Stake Center,1933 South 2100 East, Salt Lake City, where a viewing will be held from 9:30-11:30 am prior to services.