Mary Fern Allman Ewell
1937 – 2022
Mary Fern Allman Ewell was born to proud parents Joseph Bates and Fern Mecham Allman in Provo, Utah on August 5, 1937. She passed away surrounded by the family she adored on December 19, 2022, at the age of 85.
As a young girl she loved spending time with her grandparents in Wallsburg, Utah. They were memories she held close to her heart and continued to share those memories with her family even through her final days. We find comfort knowing she was warmly welcomed and reunited with them.
Mom was part of the first class of Grandview Elementary School in Provo, Utah. She also attended Dixon Junior High and graduated from Provo High School in 1956.
Mom met the love of her life, William “Bill” Ewell, while working at the Provo Cannery. Dad proposed to her at her Seminary graduation, and they were married and sealed shortly after on June 28, 1956, in the Salt Lake Temple.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served many callings including Den Mother and in a Primary Presidency for special needs children. She also served as Relief Society President, Young Women’s Camp Director, and worked 14 years as a Temple Ordinance Worker in the Provo Temple. She loved serving two missions with her husband, one being the Provo Tabernacle up until it caught fire, and later, the Provo South Stake Mission. Professionally, she held many jobs including ZCMI in the gift-wrapping center, an aide at Westridge Elementary School working with special needs children, and as a bookkeeper for Ewell Brothers Construction. But her favorite job of all was creating an amazing life for herself, her husband, and her kids.
Mom loved to read, and create projects with her hands including painting, quilting, needle work, and crocheting. She was an amazing seamstress and enjoyed sewing clothes for her children and grandchildren, and anyone blessed with a baby found themselves gifted with a hand crocheted receiving blanket. She loved being outside, and spending time with her husband and family camping, picnicking, traveling, and throwing family parties. She enjoyed working in her front and back yard and had the most incredible green thumb. She loved tending to and growing all the most beautiful flowers and plants, both in and outdoors, and enjoyed sitting in the porch swing with her sweetheart admiring their beautiful gardens.
Mom loved cooking and baking in her kitchen for others. She started taking cake decorating classes with her friends through continuing education, which she later ended up teaching, and continued on to make wedding cakes for many years. One cherished memory of her grandchildren was their annual Valentine’s Day weekend sleepover where they would frost, decorate (and eat!) dozens and dozens of sugar cookies. Mom loved to throw a party! Every holiday meant a reason to gather and spend time with her family. She especially loved Christmas, and we look forward to honoring her memory during this special season for years to come. Her favorite activity in her later years was her daily trips to the gas station with her daughters for a Diet Coke.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Bill Ewell; her children, Kelly Ewell, MaryJo (Richard) Dorius, Kristine (Bruce) Lee, Jeannine (Shawn) Harding, Angie (Paul) Simmons, and Chad (Shaun) Ewell; 16 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and 2 sisters, Verna Lee Atwood and Sandra Lamoreaux. She is preceded in death by her parents, Joe and Fern Allman, and siblings, Joyce Smith, Diane Farley, and Joseph Glenn Allman. She is also preceded in death by her grandchildren, Richard Dorius, Annie Jean Christensen, and Melissa Dorius.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at the LDS Grandview 13th Ward Chapel, 1260 West 1150 North, Provo, Utah. The family will receive friends at the Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street, Tuesday, December 27, from 6-8:00 p.m. and at the church Wednesday from 9:30-10:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Provo City Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed at www.bergmortuary.com.