Our “Amazing Grace” graduated on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. True to her name, she led a life full of grace and service which she accomplished through her gifts of music and love. She was born to Vernon Jeppesen and Lucy Hawkes in Reno, Nevada on December 6, 1930. Later in life, Grace expressed gratitude for her parents being faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Grace was born with congenital hip dysplasia, but she was determined to enjoy a full life. She spent the winters ice skating on frozen-over ponds; springs and summers included roller-skating on the sidewalks, practicing tennis against the garage door, and going to dances as a teen. Grace began piano at an early age and participated in the school band helping other students keep the beat. Music became an integral part of Grace’s life.

Grace felt it was her life’s calling to teach children and music. She attended University of Nevada (Reno) and Ricks College in Idaho where she studied voice, piano and organ, was an editor for the school newspaper, and gained an elementary education degree. She taught elementary school in Twin Falls, ID and Salt Lake City, UT where she gave encouragement and uplifting words to all the children. She spent her life building people up and kept an eye out for those who needed extra love and support. In 1961, in Salt Lake City, Grace met and fell in love with the dashing D Henry Leavitt.

Grace married D Henry on June 22, 1962 in the Salt Lake City Temple. They moved to Phoenix, Arizona and raised their four children in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In their home, she taught piano, organ, and voice lessons to her own children and to hundreds of others. Shortly after moving to Arizona, she began her life-long participation in Handel’s Messiah singing soprano arias with various groups. She soon organized a large choir and orchestra to learn and perform Handel’s Messiah in the Phoenix North Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ. Under her direction, this tradition continued every other year for the next three decades in the Phoenix North Stake.

Grace loved to read and loved to learn. She practiced Spanish to converse with and serve the members of the Royal Palm (20th) Ward in Arizona. Grace and D Henry served her mother, Lucy, in Lucy’s last 10 years of life giving loving care in their home. After Lucy’s passing, D Henry and Grace went together on many business adventures for the next 10 years. During this time, Grace continued to maintain a small teaching studio. When D Henry passed suddenly from a stroke, Grace lived in Phoenix for another two years. She taught her last piano lesson there at the age of 80, and then moved to Utah to be closer to her family. Grace split her time between her new Spanish Fork, Utah home and spending time with her best friend and sister, Dawna Nelson in LaVerkin, Utah.

Grace began her service mission in October 2021 in the Legacy House, an assisted living facility. Her fellow residents in the memory care unit needed her kindness and love. Although she could not remember her family much of the time, she remembered how to serve others through kind words and music. She had a special way of talking to the other residents and helping them to feel loved.

In the final weeks of her life, her children and nurses made sure that music was always playing in her room to give her comfort. Her immediate and extended family, which includes generations of musicians and music-lovers, are ever grateful for this Christian woman who served and gave Amazing Grace just as our Savior, Jesus Christ, would give.

Grace was preceded in death by her husband, D Henry Leavitt, her parents Vernon Jeppesen & Lucy Hawkes Jeppesen, and her sisters Dawna Marie Nelson and baby Rita Jeppesen.

She is survived by her four children: LaMont (Kristine) Leavitt, Wyn (Paul) Staheli, Lynette (David) Lewis, and LaReita (David) Berky; 20 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

There will be a viewing Monday, November 21, 2022 from 6-8 p.m. and Tuesday, November, 22, 2022 from 9:45-10:45 a.m. Her life celebration will be held Tuesday, November 22, 2022, 11:00 a.m. All events will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 870 East Canyon Road in Spanish Fork, Utah. A video link for the broadcast will be available on Grace’s obituary page at walkermemorials.com on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.

A graveside devotional will be held on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 12:00 noon at the Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 S. Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah.

TO VIEW SERVICES VIA LIVESTREAM, PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO SERVICES BEGINNING AT 11:00 A.M. ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://usuo.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/Hallelujah-chorus-Schirmer.pdf

TO VIEW SERVICES VIA LIVESTREAM, PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO SERVICES BEGINNING AT 11:00 A.M. ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 AND CLICK ON THE LINK LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS OBITUARY PAGE