She was confined to life care centers for most of the last two years of her life because of severe nerve damage. The family is grateful to the kind caregivers who provided her with TLC for months.
Nona was born to Mabel Randall Orton and Clarence V. Orton on July 2, 1927 and spent her childhood in North Ogden, Utah. Her family was close-knit, and she was the last survivor of five children: Allene, Lettice, Eldon, and Max.
Nona grew up in north Ogden where she made many life-long friends. After a preliminary attendance at Weber College she transferred to BYU where she became a music major.
She met her husband through the instigation of her brother, Max who was a friend of Howard Clair Searle in the U.S. Navy Aviation Electronics program. Howard was impressed with the picture of his sister on the door of his locker. Max was a returned missionary and older than Howard, and was discharged a few months earlier. He took Nona to Provo to meet Howard’s folks, who immediately loved her.
While they were attending BYU they courted and were married on September 14, 1949. They accepted a contract to teach in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Educational System and were assigned to the Tabiona Seminary. Her music talents were a big hit as she played the accompaniment at all the church meetings, organized the Singing Mothers, and taught piano and voice training to many students. She went with her husband from the smallest Seminary in the system to the largest at Weber Seminary in Ogden.
She continued to teach music lessons until they were transferred to Gardena, California to pioneer an Institute of Religion at El Camino College.
She served as a secretary during the building of the Institute building, and continued her tutoring of music students. When they were transferred to Santa Monica College she served as secretary and advisor to the women’s chapter of Lambda Delta Sigma. Some of the girls have contacted her after several years.
After 18 years in California she returned to Utah, where she served as the East Mill Creek Sixth Ward organist and continued to teach piano lessons. She attended classes at the University of Utah Institute of Religion and was always interested in Mormon doctrine and history.
She suffered nerve damage from a medication that was prescribed over a period of five years, which changed her life. Her disability increased until she could not get along without constant assistance. She was visited by her husband daily who in three months would have celebrated their seventieth wedding anniversary together.
There will be a viewing at the Wasatch Lawn Cemetery from 6 to 8 pm on Friday, with another viewing from 9:30 to 10:30 at the Stake Center on Saturday, and the funeral at 11:00 am at the East Mill Creek Stake Center.
