Afton DeHaan

July 24, 1904 - May 8, 2011

Our precious mother passed away on Mother’ Day, May 8, She departed for her heavenly home and her beloved husband.

She was born July 24, 1904, Utah’s Pioneer Day, a daughter of George E. And Ida Maude Stahr (Dudman) Brown. She was the second oldest living person in Utah. She married John E. De Haan, in the Salt Lake Temple on March 28, 1928.

Her pioneer ancestry includes a great-grandmother in the Willie Handcart Company. A great-grandfather, James White, led wagon trains to Utah and was awarded a land grant by President Brigham Young, which included much of North Ogden, Utah.

She graduated from Weber State College (then called Weber Normal College) with a degree in Humanities. Afton excelled in history and English. She was a gifted seamstress. Afton loved to travel and visited countries all over the world, by train, ship, and plane. She worked at De Haan Paint and Wallpaper store for 15 years.

She fulfilled many callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints over her life’s span of 106 years. Her favorite calling was that of teaching Blazer primary boys’ classes for 25 years. She was an election judge for 50 years and was active in politics. Afton served as a hostess for the Bee Hive House and was a member of Daughter of Utah Pioneers for 53 years.

Preceded in death by her husband (43 years prior to her death), five brothers: Clair, Everett, Lewis, Arthur, Frank, and one sister, Annis (Howard) Tribe. She is survived by three daughters: Irene (Ken) Hastings; Joanne (Gordon) Smith; Lynda (Ken) Jensen, and two sisters: Mildred (Ray) Richards and Shirley (Glen) Garlick. She has 26 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren, and 39 great-great grandchildren.

(The following glimpses of her life are optional in her eulogy.)

As a young girl in the small farming town of North Ogden, Utah, she thought her birthday on July 24 was a celebration for her. “Just think,” she said, “the whole town came out to celebrate my birthday!”

She experienced momentous events in the tapestry of her life.

What an age she grew up in! The Panama Canal project began, and she transited the canal five times on cruise ships.

She remember when the Wright Brothers conquered the skies in the first powered plane and the dawn of flight began.

At age eight she watched Halley’s Comet flash across the horizon, and wished upon a star. In 1986 see saw Halley’s Comet again.

She saw one of the first Ford Model T cars, that ushered in a century of cars.

In the winter, Afton’s family rode bob-sleds hitched to a horse with sleigh bells ringing.

She remembered when Lindberg flew his plane non-stop over the Atlantic Ocean to Paris, France.

She was a teen-ager when World War I began. Her cousin was killed in France and the whole town mourned. When the war ended in 1917, America celebrated Armistice Day.

“We didn’t have American flags to wave so everyone cut little sticks and waved and

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Afton sacrificed and faced life head-on through five wars, the Great Depression, the “Black Flu” epidemic.

Her legacy lives on in the hearts of her children, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren, who love and revere her with all their hearts.

She welcomed each new day with enthusiasm and hope. Her life has been one of service to her family, her friends, and hundreds of others who have been privileged to know her.

She loved her church and had a strong testimony of the gospel, which never faltered as long as she lived. She was a true to her beliefs and a shining example to others. It can be well-said of her that she “endured to the end.”