Vonda Alice Thorpe

It was the cold night of 6 January 1927 in Groveland, just five miles west of Blackfoot, Idaho, that Vonda Alice Jensen fought her way into the world after pushing her twin brother Vernon there ahead of her.  Drastic measures were implemented to keep her alive.  So very tiny and blue; she was first dipped in warm water and then dipped in cold water.  This made her gasp in shock until, “with the Lord’s help” she was able to breathe on her own.  Her incubator was a quart jar placed in a stove.  We were lucky to have her as our mother.

From stories we’ve loved to hear, Vonda was always exploring and into things.  She left home at age 14 to work; and then, as jobs were plentiful due to World War II, she left for Oregon to work in the shipyards as a welder.  She later learned telegraphy and worked as a telegrapher for the Union Pacific Railroad.  Knowing she needed an education, she moved to Utah to work and go to school at Brigham Young University.  However, sometime during her senior year, she quit school to work, bought a car, and moved to Salt Lake City.  Mom felt it was only the prayers of her mother and her father that got her through those years.

While working for the Union Pacific Railroad in SLC, Mom met Thomas Calvin Thorpe, a Navy sailor and farm boy from Malad, Idaho, at an institute class.  Their marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple on 20 June 1950.  Upon Dad’s graduation they moved to southern California where six children were welcomed in to their home.  They were married 60 years.

They moved to Seattle, WA.  She hated the rain, so they moved back to California, then to Brigham City, Utah, Kaysville, Utah, and finally to North Salt Lake, Utah.  She has been living in Bountiful at Barton Creek for the past five years.  Wherever they went, she loved the people and made an effort to get to know everyone’s name and make them smile.

Mom always supported Dad with his employment and business endeavors.  He said she was the wind beneath his wings.  He also supported her as Mom invented, patented, and manufactured Vonda’s Quilt Frames.  They owned and managed Mountain View Mobile Park in Brigham City where we were fortunate to grow up working together.  While there she started a women’s chorus, Hills of Home Singers.  After Cal retired they enjoyed traveling around the world. Whatever she did, she was “all in”; and she gave everything her best effort.  There were few sunsets that went unnoticed.

She was a member of the LDS Church and served in many callings throughout her life. Together, in 1989, they drove across country to serve a mission in the Palmyra, NY Mission, working in and guiding visitors through the Smith family home and Sacred Grove.

Mom had a lifelong passion for books and learning.  She read everything she could.  As she now continues on, she takes with her that knowledge, passion and love.  She would say, “When a person dies, a library burns.” Her library brought us the world and beyond.

She was preceded in death by her husband and eternal companion, Thomas Calvin Thorpe, their daughter, Tracy, two grandsons.  She is survived by her sisters Laurel and Phyllis, and her twin brother Vernon; and her children, Sandra Lucia Thorpe Keeler (James), Thomas Thad Thorpe (Carol), Kirk Yancey Thorpe (Andrea), Lois Thorpe Payne (Dell), and Camille Renee Thorpe.

 A funeral will be held at 11 am Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at the Orchard 8th Ward. 55 E 350 N., NORTH SALT LAKE. Viewings on Tuesday, December 19 from 6 – 8 pm at Russon Mortuary, 295 N Main, BOUNTIFUL, and Wednesday from 9:45-10:45 am at the church prior to the service. A Graveside service will be held at the Brigham City Cemetery, 300 E 300 S, at 2:30 p.m.

A special thank you to our friends at Barton Creek and Barton Creek LDS Branch.