Zelda Evans
The News-Examiner, April 15, 2015, page 13
Zelda Cook Evans, age 95, died Friday, April 3, 2015 at Bear Lake Memorial Hospital. Zelda was born in Paris, Idaho on September 21, 1919 to Eldon W and Florence Shirley Cook. She spent her early childhood on the Cook ranch in Border, Wyoming. In 1924, just as Zelda was about to start school, her family moved to Provo, Utah where her father attended BYU and trained to be a teacher. Upon graduation, Eldon was hired as a teacher in Joseph City, Arizona, then moved to Snowflake, where Eldon accepted a job as principal.
Zelda lived in Snowflake until she completed her junior year in high school when the family returned to Bear Lake to take over the family ranch. Zelda enrolled at BYU and completed her last year of high school and began college the same year. She graduated from BYU in 1939, taught English for one year at the high school in Payson, Utah and then returned to Bear Lake to teach at Fielding High School in Paris.
In 1948 she married Joseph Evans from Raymond Idaho, where they took over the Evans family farm. After renting a home in Montpelier for a year, they built their home in Montpelier on Garfield Street, where Zelda lived until just a few months before ther death. In 1963 Zelda returned as an English teacher and librarian at Fielding High School, often teaching children of the students she had taught during her first time there. When Fielding High and Montpelier High Schools consolidated in 1967 she became an English teacher and education media specialist for Bear Lake Junior High. She retired in 1983, although she continued as a part time library aide at the high school until 1991.
She became a widow when her husband Joe died in 1979. A long time member of the Montpelier 3rd Ward, Zelda was active in the LDS Church all her life, serving as stake Primary president and ward Primary president in Geneva, as a teacher in all auxiliaries and as ward librarian. She was involved in family history and served a mission in Salt Lake City, working in the missionary department. Two years later she spent the winter in St George in the temple attending ten sessions a week.
She is survived by her five children, Elizabeth Burdett (Curtis) of San Diego; Brian (Terri) of Montgomery Village Maryland; Eric (Lisa) of Salt Lake City; Mark (Eileen) of Montpelier and David (Donna) of Sterling Virginia; 18 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
Services will be held Saturday, April 18 at 11 am at the Montpelier Third Ward Chapel, with a viewing Friday, April 17 at the Schwab-Matthews Mortuary and prior to services.