Marva Dawn Smith Harper

Born: 23 Jul 1932

Died: 14 Dec 2018

At the age of: 86

Children: Gary, Gloria, Susie, Dennis, Marty, Kathy

Parents: Arvin & Mildred Jensen Smith

Marva Dawn Harper passed away to be reunited in heaven with her husband, Blaine; her son, Marty; and other loved ones on Dec. 14, 2018.

She was born July 23, 1932, in Ogden, Utah, to Arvin and Mildred (Jensen) Smith. She grew up with her family in Fielding, Utah, where they raised turkeys for many years. She had three sisters and three brothers.

In high school, she met the love of her life, Blaine Thomas Harper, and they were married Aug. 11, 1949. They had six children. While Blaine worked at Thiokol, the family worked on their small farm raising thousands of broiler chickens and sugar beets. Marva also worked at two restaurants and a bakery. She was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After their son Marty died in 1959, the family was sealed in the Logan Utah Temple.

In 1972, they bought a farm in Malta, Idaho, and moved there to raise sugar beets and wheat. They built a home in Elba; then, later moved to Hagerman to farm in 1981. One year later, they retired and built a home in St. George, Utah; then a few years later, they built a summer home in Star Valley, Wyoming. Blaine and Marva served a one-year mission to Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2008, Blaine passed away and Marva has lived in Levan, Utah for the last seven of those years.

Marva loves her family. She loved to have them come and visit and she always made them feel so welcome and cooked such wonderful meals for them. She loved arranging flowers and had her own flower shop for a time. She never forgot to send a birthday card to anyone, complete with lots of cute stickers she thought they would like. She was working on a great-grandchild’s card days before she passed away.

She is survived by her children, Gary (Susy) Harper, of Declo, Idaho, Gloria Robinson of North Carolina, Susie (Royce) Memmott of Scipio, Utah, Dennis (Michelle) Harper of Hailey, Idaho, and Kathy (Roland) Zollinger of Malta, Idaho; 19 grandchildren; 45 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson; as well as her siblings, Lajuana Pulver, Ivaloo Kuisel, Terry (Judy) Smith, Sherry (Earl) Harris, and Lanny (Barbara) Smith.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Blaine; her son, Martin; son-in-law, Roland Zollinger; brother, Gordon Smith; sister-in-law, Doris Smith; and brothers-in-law, Charles Pulver and Dick Kuisel.

The funeral will be held at 12 noon Thursday, Dec. 27, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Malta, where friends may call from 10:30 until 11:45 a.m. preceding the service. She will be buried next to her husband, Blaine, in the Valley Vu Cemetery in Malta.

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