Obituary: Lois Gifford Nielsen

Lois Gifford Nielsen 1923 ~ 2006 Lois Gifford Nielsen, our devoted mother, grandmother and friend, peacefully left this world to join her beloved husband, Stan, on August 10, 2006. Known and loved by her extensive family and countless friends for her boundless energy and drive, her excellence in homemaking, her love for music, her medical expertise and knowledge, her quick wit and "can do" attitude, and her charity in championing those she loved, especially the "underdog", this powerful matriarch will be greatly missed by many, including nieces and nephews who thought of her as a second mother. Born on January 22, 1923, to Arthur Lamont and Cora Driggs Gifford in Victor, Idaho, Lois attended BYU, where she met and married basketball star, H. Stanley Nielsen, in the Salt Lake Temple on May 23, 1941. Lois and Stan raised their family of five daughters and one son in Springville and Provo, where for 14 years they operated the Cherry Lane boarding house, dubbed "Maniac Mansion". Lois also had careers in the fields of medicine and design, working in the offices of Dr. David Reese and Dr. Craig Morrison for more than 25 years, as well as decorating homes for numerous Utah residents and professionally designing Christmas trees in private homes and for The Festival of Trees. Lois served in various callings within the LDS Church, culminating in her service as a Provo Temple worker and a guide at the LDS Conference Center. Friends were extremely important throughout Lois' life, including members of the "No Name, Do Nothing Club" which began in newlywed years and still functions today. Although Lois' passing will leave a void, the brightness of her love and talent warms the hearts of each person whose life she touched. Lois was preceded in death by her husband H. Stanley Nielsen, her brother and sister, Bud and Bonne Gifford, and a brother-in-law Evan Nielsen. She is survived by her children, Nancy (John) Boswell, Julie (Fred) Skousen, Shirley (Tom) Baltzer, Peggy (Elwin) Atwood, Laurie (Larry) Beardall, and Gifford (Wendy) Nielsen, her 25 grandchildren, her 58 great-grandchildren, her sister Polly Fillmore, her brother and sister-in-law Lyndy and Maridon Nielsen, and her five sisters-in-law, Honey Gifford, Roberta Nielsen, Dawna Killen, Mary Louise Jones, Letha Hudgins. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 15, in the Cascade 4th Ward building, 1051 East 200 North, Orem, Utah. Family and friends may also call at the Cascade 4th Ward building one hour prior to the services. Monday evening, family and friends are invited to call at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State Street, Orem, Utah from 6-8 p.m. Interment will be in the Timpanogos Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Orem. Anyone wishing ton honor Lois' memory is invited to send a contribution in her name to Perpetual Education Fund, 50 E. North Temple, Floor 8, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.sundbergolpinmortuary.com.