Heaven is having a grand celebration to welcome home one of their finest angels.

Joann Hill Bigler returned home to the arms of many beloved friends and family, as she finished her work and ended her 14-year journey with Alzheimer’s, on September 18, 2021

Joann was born in Ucon, Idaho, to Joseph and Margaret Hill, on June 15, 1947. Her family moved to Fruit Heights, Utah, when she was twelve years old, where she grew up and graduated from Davis High School.  She attended BYU and, there, met Clarence Dale Bigler. He charmed her with his sense of humor, charm and positive attitude. They spent the next 54 years laughing, doing projects, and serving others, side by side. They spent the first several years of marriage moving from Army base to Army base, until 1975 when they moved to Elk Ridge, Utah, and built their own home. They put their hearts and labor into their home and yard and planted deep roots for the next 44 years to raise their seven children.

Joann was excellent at all she did. She was an accomplished pianist and organist. She taught piano lessons for nearly 30 years to children in Elk Ridge and surrounding areas. She would work tirelessly to get things just right for any project she took on and make it perfect. She and Dale spent hours in their beautiful yard that was used for many wedding receptions and ward Easter egg hunts.

Joann was actively involved in her church and community. She and Dale loved the youth and were a dynamic duo wherever they went. She fulfilled many church callings, including pianist and organist; and served in Relief Society, Young Women’s and Primary presidencies, and finally volunteered to serve in the nursery, where she stayed for twelve years. Joann served as PTA President at Payson High School and, while there, created a drug prevention group called FRIENDS. She wrote and choreographied skits and songs for a program performance, giving junior high and high school kids the opportunity to perform for elementary kids at local schools.  This program helped in building confidence, friendships, and conviction to resist peer pressure. Many of the youth from the community were blessed to be a part of this organization.

She had great love and interest in natural healing arts. She was a skilled and compassionate healer. She studied, and was certified, in various healing modalities, including reflexology, cranial sacral therapy, and heart-centered therapy. She had an intuitive ability to understand what a person needed to be able to heal, and she had the compassion to go to great lengths to help them.  Many were touched by her TLC in their healing journeys.

She had a deep love for and relationship with the Savior, and was always serving someone, whether it was a foot rub, taking a fresh loaf of bread to new people moving in, serving as a volunteer firefighter or EMT, being barber for men in the neighborhood, or being a gentle angel to visit and comfort, on a weekly basis, many women who were homebound in the last years of their lives. She answered the call, without being asked, whenever she saw a need.

She loved being a Mom and a “Dooda” to her grandkids and could be found on the floor playing whatever they wanted to play, singing songs, or making jokes with them whenever they came to visit. She found joy in nature and would call everyone outside to share a beautiful sunset, or hear the first meadowlark of Spring.  She loved birds and animals and some of her best pets were strays that she found and took in. She loved to go for walks and would always take a garbage bag with her to pick up trash, so she could leave a place better than she found it.

Joann spent the last fourteen years of her life on a journey through Alzheimer’s. She met it with courage, faith, a sense of humor, and gave us many fun stories to remember her by. This disease took many things from her, but it never could break her deep love and consideration of others, her sweet nature, or her easy laugh.  She handled this disease with the same excellence that she met every other challenge of her life.

She will be greatly missed, but has planted her love, faith, conviction and influence deep in our hearts; and, we hope to make her proud and live the way she lived. We Love you, Mom!

She is preceded in passing by her parents, Joseph and Margaret Hill. She is survived by her loving husband, Dale Bigler; her children: Angie Bigler, Matt (Allison) Bigler, Brandon (Jenny) Bigler, Heidi (Jimmy) DeGraffenried, Joe (Sarah) Bigler, Becky (Joel) Harward, Cami (Wade) Lonokapu; and 30 beautiful grandchildren that love their Dooda, plus 3 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings: David (Diana) Hill, Sam (Barbara) Hill, Becky (Kenny) Kapp, and Phillip (Vanessa) Hill.

A viewing will be held Thursday evening, September 23, 2021, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home, 587 South 100 West, Payson, Utah 84651.  There will be a second viewing on Friday morning, from 9:00-9:45 a.m. at the LDS Elk Ridge Second Ward Church, 259 East Alpine Drive, Elk Ridge, Utah 84651, followed by the Funeral Services at 10:00 a.m. in the chapel. Interment will be at Salem City Cemetery.

Service will be live-streamed, and can be viewed by clicking on the following link, shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Friday: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFHT7hfHWLc6NrcWkV_cuuA

Funeral will be live-streamed. Please click on the following link shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 24, 2021.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFHT7hfHWLc6NrcWkV_cuuA