Edith Lucille Hertel

Edith Lucille Hertel, age 85, passed away peacefully while watching General Conference with her family in the home of her daughter in West Valley City, Salt Lake, Utah. She was born in Bend, Deschutes, Oregon to John Ernest Elton Estey and Threva Bernice Harrington. She was the oldest of three children; Howard Ernest and Mark David were her younger brothers.

She moved with her family to Portland, Oregon as a teenager. There she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just before her 18th birthday and graduated from Roosevelt High School.

She soon met her beloved husband Gerhart Clarence Hertel. They met through a mutual friend at Jantzen Beach pool, also in Portland, Oregon. According to Lucille, six dates and only two months later, they were wed on Christmas Day, 25 December 1954, while he was on leave from the Air Force. She said people told her it wouldn't last. Sixty-four years later she said they proved them wrong.

They were sealed 28 January 1958 in the Los Angeles Temple for time and all eternity. When her husband recently passed away, she said that he must have forgotten about the “time” part because she was still here.

Early in their marriage, they were transferred place to place with the Air Force until they eventually settled in Newark, Alameda, California and started their family. Their children include Garry Craig, Alisa Dawn, Cynthia Lynn, Vanessa Joy, and Sara Ann. Together they made their way to Utah in 1969 and planted their roots. Twenty-one grandchildren and thirty-eight great grandchildren was the wonderful posterity that followed.

Lucille worked hard for many years as an accountant, financial counselor, financial advisor, insurance agent, and tax consultant. She was an enrolled agent with the IRS for many years and was an owner/operating partner of Diversified Inc., which she owned for more than two decades. She was a great mentor and strong advocate of young women in their careers.

Later after retiring (but not really), she found a more exciting career at Hancock Fabric, a sewing store, and then also helped her daughter Alisa at her scrapbook store, Treasured Memories. Lucille loved to create with her hands with sewing, crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, quilting, scrapbooking, card making, and many other forms of crafts. The many items she made are beautiful, intricate, and loved.

Lucille loved animals; she said that she had never met an animal that didn't like her back. Her pets, Tabby and Sandy, were beloved and miss her immensely. She also loved all flowers, the Utah Jazz, and puzzles. Lucille enjoyed service, especially with her church. She often held two and three callings at a time and served diligently through her life in Primary, Young Women, and the Relief Society. She also served a mission with her husband on a ranch at Promontory Point.

Lucille was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She was very easy going and happy in her life. We already miss her dearly, but we find comfort that she is reunited with her husband and know that she is at peace.

Lucille was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Threva; her brothers, Howard and Mark; and her husband, Gerhart; as well as two grandchildren, Crystal and Robby; and great-grandchildren, Aurora Rose and Kaida Lynn.

Lucille is survived by her children, Garry Craig Hertel (Alberta), Alisa Dawn Mellen (Michael), Cynthia Lynn Wilkinson (Richard), Vanessa Joy Hertel, and Sara Ann Ostberg; 19 grandchildren; 36 great grandchildren; two half-siblings, Frauke Ann Estey and John Elton Estey; sister-in-law, Lisa Estey of Oregon; brother and sister-in-law, Rueben and Helen Hertel of Talent, Oregon; sister-in-law, Maxine Hertel of Portland, Oregon; brother-in-law, Robert Wedding of Portland, Oregon; and 15 nieces and nephews.

Services will be held Saturday, 13 April 2019, 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 3963 Peachwood Dr. West Valley City, Utah. The family will receive friends the same day at 9:00 a.m. preceding the service and Friday evening 12 April 2019 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Valley View Funeral Home. Interment will be held at Valley View Memorial Park 4335 W. 4100 S. in West Valley City, Utah, following the service on Saturday.