Our beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend passed away on Sunday, May 5, 2019 in her hometown of Provo, Utah as a result of complications due to a stroke. Neva was born on March 28, 1936 to William Keith and Zenna Sorensen in Provo, UT. She was third child of eight, and first daughter born to William and Zenna.
She was born at the tail end of the Depression, which would go on to shape the rest of her life. She learned from her mother how to be reful and make do with what little they had. Her mother was an avid quilter, and while she did not inherent the quilting gene, she did inherit her love to create beautiful knitted works of art.
She was also a huge bookworm, and found joy living vicariously through the characters in the books she read. She graduated from Provo Highschool in 1954 and went on to live at the Beehive house in Salt Lake while she worked for the summer. While visiting home, she went across the street to see her best friend Donna.
Donna’s husband had a friend who was home on leave from the Marine Corp, who also happened to be at the house that day. The moment he saw her, he was smitten with her. It didn’t take long till the two were inseparable, and about a year later she married the love of her life, Thomas Kent Luce, in the LDS Manti temple on June 18th, 1956.
Soon after, the newlyweds moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina to live on base at Camp Lejeune. Times were extremely hard, and they lived on Campbell’s soup, eating it for every meal. But, even with the hardships they endured, they were also some of the happiest times of her life.
Neva became pregnant about two months after their wedding with their son Thomas Keith. He was born about a month before their first wedding anniversary, and Neva loved him more than anything in the world. Just a short three months after giving birth to Thomas, she became pregnant with her daughter, Kristy, and within less than two years of marriage, they became a family of four.
Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly love anyone more than the two men in her life, she opened her heart up to Kristy who would go on to be her best friend for the entirety of her life. She took her role as mother very seriously, but also helped provide for her family by holding various jobs over the years. Her nickname was “bossy” growing up because she liked to be in charge and tell people what to do and how to do it, which is probably how she became the first female meter reader supervisor at Mountain Fuel.
Her world was flipped upside down when her husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 41. It was an extremely difficult time in her life, but she found some solace in her work, her oil painting, her LDS church calling as Relief Society President, and her choir group “Sweet Adelines”. Neva spent nine years as a widow, and while it was a trying time, it shaped her into the self-sufficient, extremely talented person we all knew and loved.
Neva liked to spend a lot of time at the local health club, and coincidentally met a man named Frank Lynn Madson while at the “spa”. Their courtship was short, and they were married June 9, 1986. They spent their time together on their boat and in their camper, fishing, camping, and traveling the country.
She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren, as well as Frank’s, and she always treated them as her own. She had a way of making everyone feel loved and included, and everyone loved coming to Grandma and Grandpa Madson’s house. She and Frank served an LDS mission at the Cannery in Lindon, UT where they served for nearly two years.
Unfortunately, Frank passed away due to complications from a stroke on January 1, 2003 leaving Neva a widow for a second time. She lived with her daughter and family for a short time while she grieved and decided what to do next with her life. After moving back to her home, her mother’s health was declining, and she decided to move in with her and become her primary caregiver for the next four years until her mother’s death in 2007.
She dedicated the next few years to her oil painting classes at the senior citizen’s center and created many beautiful works of art that her family will cherish forever. She developed Macular Degeneration, and her eyesight progressively worsened, which ultimately ended her ability to paint as well as enjoy many of her favorite hobbies. She became nearly legally blind, and needed assistance with most of her day to day tasks during the last decade of her life.
Her daughter Kristy and her husband Michael moved in with her and helped take care of her until she sold her home to her granddaughter Kira in 2015. She then moved to Colorado to live with her son Thomas for a year and a half, until she suffered from a stroke while visiting Utah and was unable to return back to Colorado. She moved back in with her daughter and son-in-law, where she resided until her death.
Over the last 6 years she has had multiple heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses but has been strong and resilient throughout her many health trials. What brought her the most strength and joy in life was being with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She returned home to her Heavenly Father on May 5, 2019 surrounded by her family whom she loved so dearly.
Neva is survived by her two children Thomas K. Luce (Cheryl) and Kristy O. Tymon (Michael), two sisters Wendy Laycock (Grant) and Karla Reynolds (Jerry) as well as her four sisters-in-law Julie Sorensen, Karen Luce Hall, Jo Sorensen and Christine Sorensen. Grandchildren Devan Luce (Brian), Tyler Luce (Devon), Jordan Luce, Kira Tymon Tafoya (Brandon), Morgan Luce Clukey (Sam) and Alisha Tymon Miller (Zachary). Great grandchildren Cayde Abeyta, Paityn Abeyta, Tidus Passarelli, Aven Luce, Xander Adkins, Xavier Adkins, Tinley Miller, Bronson Clukey, and Rhett Tafoya.
She is also survived by her three step children from her second husband Frank L. Madson; Cindy Jones (Lamarr), Dennis Madson (Dori), and Connie Ericksen (Boyd). Step Grandchildren Ryan Jones (April), Quinton Jones (Sherri), Adam Jones (Laura), Kerri Jones Welton (Doug), Shae Jones (Catrina), Sean Jones (Megan), Stefan Ericksen (Jamie), Spence Ericksen (Shelby), Lacey Madson Williams (Drew), Missy Madson Challis (Chris), Mandy Madson Voisin (Kevin), Jessica Madson Keleman (Tom), Taylor Madson, and Callie Madson. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews whom she also loved dearly.
Neva was preceded in death by her first husband Thomas Kent Luce, and later by her second husband Frank L. Madson. She is also preceded in death by her parents William and Zenna Sorensen, and her brothers Kenneth, Ray, Dennis, David and her sister Linda. In-laws Kent Luce and Doris Bleak, and sister-in-law Shirley Smith, brothers-in-law Boyd Smith and Burton Luce.
Funeral will be held on Friday, May 10th 2019 at 11 AM Lakeside 7th Ward Chapel 2225 West 620 North Provo, UT 84601 Interment immediately to follow at the Provo City Cemetery 610 S. State St. Provo, UT 84606 Viewings will be held Thursday, May 9th, 2019 from 6-8 PM and Friday, May 10th from 9:30-10:30 AM at the Lakeside 7th Ward Chapel. For any floral deliveries, please have to the funeral home in Draper before 3PM on Thursday, or delivered directly to the church between 5 and 6PM Thursday. The funeral home address is 12278 S Lone Peak Pkwy #103, Draper, Utah 84020.
The Church address is 2225 West 620 North, Provo, Utah 84601. Thank you to the Lakeside 7th Ward family for 50 years of love and service given to Neva on Geneva. Thank you to her Mountain Fuel friends that she considered to be her family.
She spoke often and fondly of how much she loved and appreciated the men and women she worked with for 26 years. Many thanks to the countless friends, neighbors, coworkers, and teachers who have inspired and enriched her life over the past 83 years. Serving her family and friends was her greatest joy in life, and she will be greatly missed by everyone that knew her.
We love you GG. Please share memories and condolences at www.
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