Kathleen McLatchy Backman, 68, devoted wife and mother and exceptional teacher, died Saturday night, 16 January 1999 in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Provo, Utah, following a long period of declining health.
Born on 6 June 1930 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Frank Blue McLatchy and Charlotte Taffee, she grew up in Salt Lake City as the oldest child in a family of four girls and one boy, which included Shauna Adix (deceased 14 Dec. 1998), Linda Louise Vail, Michael John McLatchy and Malon Richardson.After graduating in elementary education from the University of Utah, she married Milton V. Backman, Jr. on 11 June 1953 in the Salt Lake Temple.
She was the mother of three children. After her youngest child, Karen, became handicapped at the age of sixteen, she devoted six years, until Karen's death, in assisting her meet a series of unusual challenges and trials.
She is survived by her daughter, Kris Denison, her son-in-law, Neil; her five grandchildren, Jessica, Heather, Jamie, Dane, and Alexis; her son, Karl Michael Backman, and Mike's partner, Steve Swayne.
As a gifted teacher, especially to young children, she taught in elementary schools in Utah, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. She also influenced the lives of many as she served as an effective teacher in various church callings including Primary, Sunday School, MIA, and Relief Society.
Following the path of her mother, she developed a talent of presenting book reviews. She also became an efficient editor of newsletters in Texas and Utah.
Accompanying her husband, she traveled extensively in many parts of the world, assisting him in his teaching, research and writing endeavors. She also served as a missionary with him in 1992 and 1993 at a historic sight in Nauvoo, Illinois, and then for three winters participated in the BYU Semester program in Nauvoo.
In addition to her devotion to her family and faith, she was known for her unusual patience, and her insistence on being reliable and honest, traits emphasized by her father.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, 20 January 1999 at Provo North Edgemont Stake Center, 4300 North Canyon Road, Provo. Friends may meet with the family on that day one hour prior to the services or on Tuesday, 19 January, at Berg Mortuary, 185 East Center Street, Provo, from 6 to 8 p.m. Interment, East Lawn Memorial Hills, 4800 North 650 East.
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