Eleanor Boucher Obituary (1932

Eleanor Anne Boucher Cox was the heart of our family and will be dearly missed. She passed away on January 7, 2011 in Provo, Utah at age 78. She gave us love and enjoyment every day and her good works were many. Anne was born in Calgary, Alberta on September 11, 1932, the daughter of Harold Dunbar and Janet Leah Hamilton Boucher. The Boucher family later moved to Regina, Saskatchewan and then Toronto, Ontario. She was always proud of her Canadian roots. She had lifetime dear friends in each location; too many to mention but always remembered. Canada remained strong in her heart, her identity and work ethic, enjoyment and beautiful memories. Anne attended Brigham Young University graduating in 1954 with a degree in Home Economics and Education. Upon graduation she received the AWS Leadership Award. She was one of the first two Relief Society Presidents called on the BYU campus when student branches were first formed consisting of two branches for the entire campus. After college, she first taught Home Economics in Jordan, Utah and then in Van Nuys, California. She married Charles McArthur Cox (“Chuck”) on November 25, 1959 in the Salt Lake City Temple. They had four children, Chip, Rick, Janet, and Craig. They lived in Boston, Sacramento, San Jose, Provo, Seattle, and settled again in Provo in 1973 where Chuck was a member of the Business School faculty at Brigham Young University. Anne soon after began teaching at Utah Technical College which is now called Utah Valley University. She, again, met more personal and special friends than we can mention, but she enjoyed each immensely. Anne embraced family and professional life with warm delight, love, and diligence. Her children each married and she has eight beautiful grandchildren with whom she loved to play games until the last week of her life. They know her intimately and love her dearly. Anne was a professor at what is now Utah Valley University In 1974 she was asked to initiate the Department of Child Education, later expanding it to include Elementary Education-- which became the foundation for the present day College of Education at UVU. She served two terms as president of the Junior College Division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and sat on the Judicial Advisory Board for Foster Program Placements. She developed the Day Care Center at UVU as well as other institutions that needed programs to accommodate working mothers, including Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving multiple times as Relief Society President, Young Women President, and Primary President at both the Ward and Stake level. After retiring in 1998, she and her husband went to China where they both took positions of Professor at the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing as service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Returning to Utah she served as an Ordinance Worker in the Provo Temple, traveled to Europe with her husband and friends, visited children incessantly, played with her grandchildren, and shared her unquenchable zest for life with all of those around her. Anne’s circles of friends are as diverse as her interesting and substantial activities. They enjoy each other and were often part of important work that she loved. While her friends know her unending grace and friendliness, her family knows that her dignity and grace are the most natural part of her, and have loved her in their lives in every way. She had a unique way to make people happy in any situation with her humor and love. She is survived by her husband, Charles M. Cox, four children Charles B. (Chip) Cox (Shauna), San Ramon, California, Richard H. Cox, Orem, Utah, Janet Elle Cox, Coronado, California, and Craig R. Cox (Joni), Chicago, Illinois, and a brother and sister, H. David Boucher (Natalie), Sacramento, California and Lois Boucher Rennie (Robert), of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and their families, as well as loved Hamilton cousins who she spent much time with in southern Alberta. She will be missed most and continued to be loved eternally by her husband, her children, and grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at the Edgemont North Stake Center, 4560 Canyon Road, Provo, Utah. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street, on Tuesday evening from 6 until 8 and at the church Wednesday from 11:30-12:45 prior to services. Condolences may be sent to the family through www.bergmortuary.com