Pauline Romney Thomander, homemaker, teacher and missionary, died on December 3, 2000 at 95.
She was born on February 19, 1905 in Colonia Morelos, Chihuahua, Mexico, the third of eight children of Thomas Cottam and Lydia Ann Naegle Romney. She left Mexico with her family in 1912 and was schooled in Provo, Raymond, Alberta, Canada and Preston, Idaho as her father pursued a career with the LDS Church Education System. She received the Effie Warnock medal as the best graduating student in Home Economics from BYU in 1925. On August 30, 1927, she married Veron Samuel Thomander in the Salt Lake Temple. Always active in the LDS Church, she served as a branch or ward Relief Society president six times-first in Pittsburgh and subsequently in or near Newark, New Jersey. She was released from service as New York Stake Primary President to serve nine years as a stake missionary and many more as a teacher of adults in the Sunday School. After her own children were grown, she taught enthusiastically for several years in the early morning seminary program. Generous with her talents, she enjoyed both sharing the fruit of her labors and teaching homemaking arts and crafts. A gracious hostess, her home was always open to friends and strangers alike. She is remembered for: being a loving mother, wife , teacher and friend; her firm devotion to church and family; and her love for her neighbor as expressed by her limitless service through her church, community organizations and her many private acts of charity.
She is survived by: two sisters, Lucille (Jay) Painter of Idaho Falls and Genevieve (Heber) Moulton of Bountiful; five children, Donna (Sterling) Bench of Provo, LaVonne (Richard) Van Orden and Joan (Jim) Stevens of Jerusalem, Israel, Peggy Ann (Therald) Leonard of Auburn, WA; and Alan (Janeen) Thomander of Colorado Springs; 30 grandchildren; and 80 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at the Eagle Gate Stake Center, 135 "A" Street, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, at 11 a.m. Friends may call Friday evening, December 8th , from 6-8 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, and one hour prior to services at the stake center. Interment: Salt Lake City Cemetery.