LaRae Egbert Wilson, age 64, died at home on September 25, 1997 of infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast with metastatic disease to the abdomen.
Her faith and courage have been an inspiration to those who for the past ten years have watched her live with, rise above, and finally succumb to her cancer.She was the beloved wife of Dr. Merrill L. Wilson. They are the parents of nine children and the grandparents of eighteen. LaRae's parents, Richard A. and Alta Egbert live in Tetonia, Idaho, in the home where LaRae grew up with her brother Phillip. She was born to them on April 20, 1933 in Rexburg, Idaho. She was a member of the Tetonia Ward where she had many opportunities in her youth to share her musical talents. She attended Teton High School where she was the valedictorian of the class of 1951. She then went to Ricks College for four years and was very involved in the bands and choirs and studied piano and organ with Ruth Barrus. She also spent a summer studying organ with Alexander Schreiner. She was involved in the Valkyries Service organization and received the Senior Music Award. She had a double major in Elementary Education and Music. She received a B.S. degree in both majors and was the valedictorian again of her graduating class in 1955. The month following her graduation from Ricks, LaRae married Merrill in the L.D.S. Idaho Falls Temple. As Merrill pursued his medical training, they lived in Denver, CO., New York City, N.Y., and finally settled in Salt Lake City, living in the Ensign 1st Ward for over 40 years. During her busy child-rearing years, she continued to share and develop her musical abilities and many other talents. In 1965, she joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and enjoyed participating with her husband in that group over the course of 22 years. She loved to spread the joy of the gospel through song and her voice was heard in numerous countries all over the world. She served in the Ward and Stake Primaries as a Music Leader. She later served in the ward Relief Society, where she filled many positions. She always enjoyed attending Relief Society meetings, Work Days, and Homemaking Meetings. For the past seven years she has served as a counselor in the Stake Relief Society. She has cherished her relationships with her Relief Society sisters, and up to the end, did all she could to be in their midst. She strove to bring the Spirit of the Lord into the lives of those around her as she played the piano and organ for church services, sang in the ward choir and congregation, and taught the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School. At various times in her life, LaRae has shared her love of music by teaching piano lessons to hundreds of students, thereby inspiring their appreciation of music. LaRae was an accomplished homemaker, proving her skills again and again in her home and garden. Above all, however, she was a stunning example of motherhood as she taught her children to love music, to love learning, to love others, and to love the Lord. For the past two years, LaRae and Merrill have enjoyed singing together in the Utah Symphony Chorus. Hand in hand with her chosen husband, she has met life's challenges with joy and tenacity and now looks forward to the time when they can be reunited.
She is survived by her parents, Richard A. Egbert, 91 and Alta Phillips Egbert, 84; her husband, Dr. Merrill L. Wilson; her children: David Richard Wilson (Sharon), Marta Wilson Murray (Scott), Lisa Wilson Siniscalchi, Julie Wilson Schindler (Brent), Anne Wilson Elkins (Keith), Elaine Wilson, Lowell Ardean Wilson, Kirsten Wilson, Phillip Egbert Wilson, and by her eighteen grand-children. She is preceded in death by her brothers, Richard Phillips Egbert and Lyndon Egbert and her sister, Phyllis Egbert.
Special thanks to Drs. Peter Bossart, Christopher Jolles, Clyde Ford, and Charles R. Smart.
Funeral services will be held Monday Sept. 29, 1997, 11 a.m. at the Ensign Stake Center, 589 E. 18th Avenue, SLC. Friends may call Sunday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple and one hour prior at the ward. Interment Tuesday, 10 a.m. at the Cache-Clawson Cemetery, Tetonia, Idaho.
In lieu of flowers, LaRae requested that contributions be made to the Salt Lake Repertory Theater, 532-6000; or the Utah Symphony Chorus, 1-888-901-7464.
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