LEAVITT Durraine

LEAVITT

DURRAINE CLEGG NELSON LEAVITT, passed away on September 28th, 2015, in Cardston, Alberta, at the age of 94. She was born December 21, 1920, in Claresholm, Alberta, the adored youngest of nine children of John Clegg Nelson and Nancy Mary Crouch Nelson. They moved to “The Bungalow” at Glenwood when she was three and to Cardston when she was 15. She married Charles Deloy Leavitt (deceased) in the Alberta Temple on February 26, 1941. They cherished their children: Nancy Mary (adopted and deceased as an infant), Verna Jean (David) Park, Nadine (Lon) Olsen, and Kim Nelson (Maureen Ebert) Leavitt.

Durraine had a reputation as a kind, sweet lady, with an ironic but never biting sense of humor. Her children and grandchildren fondly remember her beautiful handwork, including quilts and crocheted afghans (lucky you if you got one!), dolls, chocolates, and canning. She lived a life full of people and activities she loved, including her work: When her children were no longer little, she started as a “tray girl” in the hospital food service and graduated to helping with cooking and eventually to dietary planning. She loved her service as a temple worker and her missions with her husband in the Liberty Jail in Missouri and the London, England 1881 Census Project. Her lifelong enjoyment of history and learning about her ancestors motivated her join the Cardston First Camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers as a charter member in March, 1976; she later served as the first president of the first DUP company in Canada. She was an enthusiastic traveller to visit far-flung family members and to learn first-hand about the places where her ancestors were born.

The family who will remember Durraine fondly includes her three children and their spouses, 15 grandchildren, and 36 great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by husband Charles Deloy Leavitt; daughter Nancy Mary; and siblings William Marion Nelson, John Leland (Jack) Nelson, Ivan Crouch Nelson, Rhoda Clegg Nelson, Oneta Clegg Nelson, Alvin Crouch Nelson, Loren Crouch Nelson, and Blaudwin Clegg Nelson.

Memorial donations may be made to a cause of your choice.

The Funeral Service will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Temple Street Chapel, Cardston (355-3rd Street West) on Thursday, October 1st, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

Friends may meet the family at the Church from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. prior to the Service.

Interment will be held in the Leavitt Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to: www.legacyfuneralhome.ca