Joyce Bergeson Smith

Joyce Bergeson Smith passed away peacefully with loved ones at her side on Saturday, November 6th, at The Family Place in Lewiston, Utah, just two weeks after celebrating
her 86th birthday.
Joyce was born at home on the family farm at Utida (the Utah/Idaho border) on October 22, 1924, to Harold and Reba Butler Bergeson. She grew up in Cornish and spent most of her adult life there, living a simple life in a small town and enjoying a close, loving relationship with both her mother and her sister, Helen, who lived close by.
She graduated from North Cache High School in 1942 and then continued her education at the William Budge Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1945. While attending to her patients one day, she met her eternal companion, Alan D. Smith, and followed him to Los Angeles, CA where they married and began their life together. After returning to Cache Valley, the marriage was solemnized in the Logan Temple. Al and Joyce were blessed with four children: Paul (Addie) Smith of Farmington, Utah;
Beverly (Jerry) Shaw of Burley, Idaho; Terry (Bryan) Purdie of Richmond, Utah; and Steven (Elaine) Smith of Layton, Utah.
Joyce loved being a mother to her children and a grandmother to 21 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed the neighbor children who visited frequently at her home and always had a kind word for them and possibly even a treat! She was an excellent cook and made exceptional bread and rolls. She drank only whole milk, used thick cream and ate real butter - she was a true Cache Valley girl!
Joyce appreciated and loved nature, a beautiful sunset, trees, flowers, rainbows, clouds, and the big, blue expansive skies around the Burley, Idaho area. She enjoyed gardening and always had a big garden to share with her family. She was an avid reader and enjoyed learning about new places and people, always interested to learn the meaning of a new word she came across while reading. She liked to Quilt and sew with her mother Reba who taught her how to work hard and make a little something into something wonderful. She was always satisfied with what she had and knew that "the best things in life are not things".
Joyce was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many capacities in the Cornish Ward. She enjoyed serving as a Temple Ordinance worker with her husband at the Logan Temple for a number of years.
Since Al's passing in 2008, Joyce lived with her daughter Beverly in Burley, Idaho. They had many wonderful, fun-filled days together and laughed together often. For the past two months she has been in the loving care of Gay and Jerry Jorgensen at The Family Place in Lewiston, Utah. Her every need has been addressed with loving devotion and we gratefully acknowledge the tender care given her by Gay, Jerry, Brian, Lana, Shirley, Jerry II, Jamie and John. We thank also her Hospice Nurse Shalise and all the caregivers from Alpine Home Health Care. Special thanks to those who took a moment to visit or call, and especially to her special sister, Helen Buxton, for her watchful care and concern for our mother.
Joyce is survived by her children, four siblings: Garth (Marion) Bergeson, Newport Beach, Ca; Dean (Dixie) Bergeson, Pleasant Grove, Utah; Helen Buxton, Cornish, Utah; and Scott (Elaine) Bergeson, Proyo,Utah, two sisters-in law, Carolyn Bergeson, Logan, Utah and Roma Smith Boggs, Boise, Idaho. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Al, a brother Max: Bergeson, a brother-in-law, Veri Buxton, and a grand­daughter, Saralee Shaw.
Funeral services will be held at noon on Saturday, November 13th, at the Cornish/Trenton Ward chapel, 1200 North 400 West in Trenton, with Bishop Conrad Naegle presiding. There will be a viewing from 10:30 to 11 :30 am prior to the service. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Allen-Hall Mortuary of Logan. Condolences may be addressed to the family at www.allenmortuaries.net .