Shayla Bodily Dunroe

Shayla Bodily Dunroe departed this life at Ogden Regional Medical Center on January 3, 2025. Shayla was born on November 9, 1950. in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the youngest of five children born to Leah Morrison and Elvin Parley Bodily. Shayla graduated from Salt Lake’s South High School, briefly attended Brigham Young University, and then married Thomas Brent Dunroe in the Salt Lake Temple in 1970. 

Thomas and Shayla literally traveled the globe. Early in their life together they moved to Japan for five years, relocated to Centerville, Utah, resided in West Germany for three years, and eventually returned to Centerville where their sixth and final child was born. While in Europe they not only visited almost every country on the continent (most of them multiple times), but also visited Israel and Russia. Over 45 years of marriage they visited over 70 countries. Shayla returned from Europe with a myriad of travel experiences and a large German Schrank, a Bosson Head collection for her wall, dozens of collectable incense burners, and a penchant for purchasing decorative spoons from every visited locale. Once settling in their permanent residence, Tom and Shayla fell in love with cruising and did their best to cruise multiple times a year. 

Shayla was born with a talent for creativity and exercised that talent crafting, building, and most importantly sewing. Shayla developed into an avid seamstress and sewed personally and professionally throughout her life. She was happiest when she was creating costumes for church musicals or roadshows, shingling the roof, building a chicken coop, sewing baptismal or blessing dresses, hemming pants, creating beaded jewelry, constructing stuffed animals, or designing award winning elementary school valentine boxes. These creative outlets often provided her children with jobs they didn’t necessarily want – like feeding/watering a dozen chickens and gathering/cleaning their eggs daily as well as shoveling chicken s#@t from the aforementioned coop. Her youngest child grew up believing it was strange when his friend’s fathers embraced the role of family handyman because at the Dunroe house, Shayla was the resident repair person. 

With a strong faith in Jesus Christ, Shayla raised her children in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served faithfully in many callings in Primary, Sunday school and the Relief Society. She excelled as the Primary President where she was able to merge her creativity with her faith by bringing the scriptures to life with monthly guest appearances from “Scripture Heros” (local congregation members dressed as David, Nephi, Captain Moroni etc.) who delivered accompanying scripture hero trading cards that she and her counselors created to pass out to the primary kids. Shayla accompanied Tom to El Paso Texas where they fulfilled a life-long commitment to each other by serving a fulltime mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Through this mission they spent the end of their married life doing missionary work on a US Military Base (Fort Bliss), much like they had early in their marriage (Tachikawa Air Force Base, Japan and Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany). Shayla was heartbroken when Tom passed away in 2015, shortly after serving their mission together. 

Shayla was preceded in death by her mother and father; mother-in-law Clara Dunroe; older sister and brother-in-law Fern and Jay Stokes; older brother O’Dell Bodily; Sister-in-law Maxine Bodily; brother-in-law David Pond; and eternal companion Tom Dunroe with whom she is no doubt happily reunited. 

Shayla is survived by her older brothers Richard (Heli) and Kevin (Renee) Bodily; sister-in-law Sheri Bodily; sister-in-law Carol Pond; daughters Shelly (Michael) Prinster, Sherra (Trent) Willey, Shantelle (David) Oliphant, Sharla Dunroe; and sons Sean (Jessica) Dunroe and Shane Dunroe. Her grandchildren: Sawyer Dunroe; Emerson and Kamryn Stromberg; Alexander Oliphant; Ty and Asha Willey; Tayler, Rylee, Jayson, and Jackson Dunroe; and Connor, Emma and Keaton Prinster; as well as great-grandchildren Layla and Logan Prinster. 

Friends and loved ones are welcome to celebrate Shayla’s life at a memorial service to be held Thursday, January 9th at 10:00 am at the Russon Mortuary located at 295 North Main Street, Bountiful, Utah. Viewings will be held prior to the service from 8:45 – 9:45 am and Wednesday, January 8th from 6-8 pm at Russon Mortuary in Bountiful. Interment will be immediately following the memorial service at the Centerville City Cemetery. 

The family would like to thank the many caregivers who took care of Shayla in December and early January at Holy Cross Hospital – Davis, Lakeview Hospital, Ogden Regional Medical Center and Sandstone skilled nursing facility in Bountiful