Faye S. Eccles

June 20, 1930 – April 3, 2023

“MAMA FAYE”

On the cemetery marker of Albert & Faye Eccles at Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach, California it reads:

“Our great joy in life: Family – Faith – Music”

The singular, vibrant, affable, and most beloved Faye Eccles, “Mama Faye,” gracefully graduated from her mortal life on April 3, 2023 at the age of 92. What a woman! O what a life!

Faye had a very apropos keychain for many years that said, “Faye, originally French, meaning ‘Fairy.’ She is of high ability and able to cope with most problems. A romantic, with novel but achievable goals. Like a flower to a bee, she attracts.”

Beautiful Faye was born June 20, 1930 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Josephine Callis and Erwin Roswell Spilsbury, and was raised in Preston, Idaho. She was the oldest of 5 children, and was always the tallest girl in school. Right out of the gate she had a passion and zest for life: Faye loved to do everything! Some hobbies of her youth were pheasant hunting, fishing, hiking, golfing, dancing, bowling, synchronized swimming, watching football, and ice skating. She started writing and putting on neighborhood plays at the age of 6, and when she was in the 5th grade she wrote, produced, and directed a play that was performed by the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. She would go on to write and produce countless more plays, roadshows, and community theater productions throughout her life.

A straight-A student who graduated at the age of 16 from high school, Faye attended Boise Junior College, Idaho (now Boise State University) where she was their first Homecoming Queen in 1947, and played college basketball. Later she attended the University of Idaho, and Butler University Indiana.

Faye met Albert Eccles, Jr. while he was in the U.S. Army (drafted during the Korean War) and stationed in Indianapolis, Indiana. They married there on February 14, 1951, and were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were married for 55 years, until Al’s death in 2006. In 1954 they moved to Farmington, Utah; then to Bountiful, Utah; and later in 1963 to Newport Beach, California, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Faye & Al created a beautiful life together and were blessed with 5 incredible children (David, Kathy, Doug, Sylvia, Scott) who brought them immense joy. They especially loved watching their children excel at music and sports, spending family time at the beach and Disneyland, and of course, performing music together.

From her first job at the age of 16, Faye worked continuously until she was 86 years old. She was a Paralegal, Office Administrator in the Legal field, and was a teacher at Coastline College in Orange County, California for 27 years where she taught American Bar Association Paralegal Certification.

Faye was a faithful, active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints her entire life. She was involved in all auxiliary organizations: worked with teenagers and their activities for 35 years; music director and pianist for organizations including adult, teen and children’s music; sports coach and official; recorded local Ward and Stake histories (recently released after 16 years as stake historian); organized activities for all ages; wife/assistant to her husband who was the bishop in Bountiful, Utah and Newport Beach, California. She was very close with her grandfather, Charles A. Callis, who was an Apostle, and his testimony had a great influence upon her life. She was able to meet and shake the hand of the 11 prophets who were President of the Church during her lifetime, beginning with Heber J. Grant.

Music was woven into the tapestry of Faye’s life. From a young age she loved to sing with her younger sister Janet while their mother, singing alto, accompanied them on the piano. Her beautiful voice earned her the leads in many musicals, and she was often asked to sing at luncheons, church programs, weddings, special events, and has even sung at over 200 funerals! She and her husband Al sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1955-1963, during which time they toured 8 countries in Europe, earned a Grammy for the choir’s recording of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and sang on the Ed Sullivan Show and in Carnegie Hall. She sang with the Pacific Chorale and other community choirs and operas in Southern California, and still had time to produce and direct musicals for community theater, write original musicals, teach voice lessons, and write family musicals for her grandchildren who were getting married. Ever the lover of the dramatic, Faye belted out arias while visiting the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Verona Arena in Italy, and the Opera Garnier in Paris, much to the delight of other tourists passing by. Every Christmas Eve at the end of their traditional family talent show and nativity reading, Faye and Al would sing “Gesu Bambino” and “O Holy Night.”

With her zest for life came a passion for travel. She visited all 50 states, and took many trips to England, Ireland (where she kissed the Blarney stone), Scotland (where she was inducted as a Dame in the Order of the Knights Templar), Wales, France, Germany, Austria (her favorite country), Italy, Spain (where she bought a Lladro statue and held it on her lap on the airplane back to America), Denmark, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Canada, and Mexico. Her favorite places to visit in the U.S. were the National Parks (especially Yellowstone).

As she advanced in years she didn’t slow down. She continued to assist in community theater musicals and plays, organized clubs and social events, participated in exercise and Zumba classes, took art classes, and offered transportation to her friends who needed it. She was genuinely interested in what every person in her life was doing, and she made it a point to attend as many events as she could for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces & nephews. She was also an “adopted” grandmother to many other families who were not related by blood but were bound by their hearts.

Faye’s mind was always sharp, right until the very end of her life. Her memory was impeccable, and even into her 90s she was still writing memoirs and family histories with incredible detail. She had clear memories going back to when she was 2 years old!

Family was Faye’s greatest joy, which is why she considered the biggest thrills of her life to be the Eccles Family Reunions she had with most of her posterity in 2016 and 2022 in the beautiful mountains of Utah. The biggest surprise of her life happened when her family performed a musical written for her, aptly named “Mama Faye the Musical!”

In “Mama Faye the Musical!” one song says, “You’re iconic and you’re like a sunny day. Duchess, Dame, Mother, Producer, Friend, and great Grandmother: she does it all our amazing Mama Faye!” Indeed, novels could be written about her impressive accomplishments and adventures, but Faye’s crowning attribute was her pure soul which was overflowing with love. Faye loved everyone she met. She took a genuine interest in every person who walked through her door, whether at home, the office, or the theater. Everyone had a friend in Faye. She offered everyone her attention, time, and unconditional love and support. She was always positive, optimistic, comforting, empathetic, and ever a peacemaker. Surely when she passed through the veil of mortality, Faye recognized the face of her Savior because she knew Him because she was like Him. Our hearts are humbled with gratitude for the blessing Faye was to all of us.

Proverbs 31: 28-29 “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.”

Faye is survived by her 5 children: David (Sally), Kathleen (Richard) Lund, Douglas “Darby” (Leslie), Sylvia (Savai’i) Amito’elau, and Scott (Kimberley); 20 grandchildren; 48 great-grandchildren; her sisters Janet (Reid) Bradshaw Izatt, and Marie (John) Fowler; her brother George (Lori) Spilsbury. She is preceded in death by her husband Albert Eccles, Jr.; her parents Erwin and Josephine Callis Spilsbury; her sister Gail (Ernest) Jewell; her brother-in-law Merrill (Janet) Bradshaw: and her son-in-law Richard (Kathy) Lund.

In lieu of flowers, please take your family and friends to a musical.