Person:Ida Fox (1)

CIRCLEVILLE, UT - Ida Estella Fox Whittaker, age 90, died peacefully at her home in Circleville on May 4, 2003 after many years of a chal­lenging illness. Stella was born October 15, 1912, in Circleville. She was the seventh child of 11 children born to George Henry Fox and Ida Menetta Nay. Stella married Kent L. Whittaker in Junction on June 3, 1935. They raised four children: Camilla, deceased (Burt) Gottfredson of Mesquite, NV­ Robert Kent (Maryl) Whittaker of Buhl, ID; Anna Merle (Gary) Glines of West Valley City; Paul John (Kenna) Whittaker of Springville. Survived by three children; 11grandchildren, 20 great grand children; three brothers Sherl Fox, Circleville, Circleville, Richard Fox and Floyd (Pat) Fox, both of St. George; two sisters, Thelma (Owen) Rust, ST. George, and Edith (Garth) Dalton of Ogden. Her husband, Kent, preceded her in death by five months.When Stella was 8 years old, she and her mother were baptized in the Sevier River. When Stella was 12, her mother died; this would be a first major test of life. Older sisters took care of the large family for a time. When Stella was 15 she quit school and assumed the full responsibility of the home and the four children younger than she. Her father remar­ried and joined another sizeable fam­ily to his - this eventually caused ten­sion with Stella moving to town and living and working for Arnold and Lola Smoot. It was while she was working at Smoots' store that she met her husband to be. The Smoots made certain Stella finished her high school education; allowed her time on Sun­days to attend church meetings and time during the week to attend Mu­tual. The Smoots were great parents to Stella and wanted to adopt her. Stella still has a compact They sent to her from the world fair with inscribed initials "S.S." - Stella Smoot.Stella's mother was a choice soul and taught Stella a lot in such a short time. Stella spent her life emulating her mother's example of serving oth­ers first and thinking of one's own needs last. Stella always relied on the blessings of prayer - she said "some­times I'm so in tune that I can almost tell when something is wrong with some of my family before they call and let me know."A clear conscience permitted Stella to always sleep soundly to provide her with daily strength to perform the arduous duties required of a wife and mother - a mother whose 2-year-old son Robert was afflicted with Polio in 1939 creating constant time and fi­nancial demands upon the parents. This mother's faith and good works eventually resulted in the son being able to walk again. This mother would regularly call Robert's name into the Temple - That was the kind of faith she exercised.Stella and her husband raised a large garden with Stella canning the excess. She had excellent recipes to share with others. Stella dearly loved her Relief Society associates. Stella was a super cook. During 21 years in the School Lunch Program, Stella made life-time friends with hundreds of students as she cooked, served meals and even saved back afternoon pastries/treats for some. Some chil­dren called her "magic-pockets" be­cause of the candy hidden therein. Stella worked at whatever jobs would provide additional income: painting, wallpapering, dragging sacks picking potatoes, riding Westwood's potato bagger, clerking at Stan's, etc.Stella was a fun-loving mother and grandmother - whether coloring Easter eggs, riding the sleigh behind the ATV, riding a Missouri Fox Trotter in Delta, CO at age 78, or a Thor­oughbred Stallion in Circleville at age 20. Stella was loved by all and will be missed by all!Services will be Sat. May 10, 2003, 1 p.m. at Circleville 1 st LDS Ward Chapel where friends may call Sat. 1 1:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Burial will be in the Circleville Cemetery. Funeral Directors: Neal S. Magleby & Sons Mortuary, Richfield, UT.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Deseret News
   Obituary 6 May 2003, 10 May 2003.