Gunn Obituaries - My (New) Homepage

and wife, Donna; her brother, Gary Gunn and wife, Christie; sister, Juan Jung and
husband, John Davis; grandchildren, Natalie, Roslyn, Phillip and Heather Hyde, Nicholas
and Jessica Alexander; and many treasured nieces and nephews.The family would like to
extend their appreciation to the staff at Marquis of Autumn Hills in Portland for their
kindness and loving care. Family and close friends will gather on the beach at Netarts,
Oregon to celebrate Barbara's life, date and time to be determined
Barbara Jean Gunn Parker
Our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, Barbara Jean Gunn
Parker, died Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at age 88 of causes incident to age. She was
born to Benjamin LeRoy Gunn and Fanny Louise Ensign on July 29, 1923 in Salt Lake
City, Utah. She attended East High and the University of Utah. She married Edward
William Parker on May 1, 1944 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Together they had six
children: E. William (Ruth Ann), Laurel Rohlfing (Thomas), Diane Zuk (Jeffery), Kathleen
Newton (Paul), Marilyn Clark (Warren), and Allison Dunlap. Her posterity includes 31
grandchildren and 57 great-grandchildren. She loved them all dearly. She was widowed in
1986 and lived twenty-five years without her eternal companion. Barbara lived life to the
fullest and was a tower of strength to all who knew her. Her life was one of service to her
family and her fellow men. She held responsible positions in the auxiliaries of the LDS
Church—as president, counselor and teacher. She especially enjoyed teaching the Spiritual
Living lessons in Relief Society and blessed many with the inspiration and insights she
shared. Barbara served as a missionary in the Texas Houston mission from 1988-1989 and
in the Georgia Macon mission from 1994-1995. She was a temple worker in the Jordan
River Temple, a Temple Square guide, and a hostess at both the Beehive House and the
Relief Society Building. She volunteered with the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge and
at Whittier Elementary School. She was always supportive of her husband in his work as
principal of West and Highland High Schools and as a Salt Lake City Council member. She
created beautiful stitchery and needlepoint that will serve as lasting remembrances to her
family. She donated myriads of crocheted items to the Humanitarian Center. Barbara
loved life and was always ready to associate with her family and many dear friends. There
was seldom a holiday that she didn’t organize a get-together. She worked in many clerical
and secretarial positions throughout her life, including several years with the Utah
Employment Security Office. Her work culminated as the administrative assistant to the
dean of the College of Business at the University of Utah. She retired in 1986. She sang with
the Tabernacle Choir from 1944-1962. As a young mother, she led the choir at the
dedication services of the Cambridge, MA chapel, presided over by President David O.
McKay. Barbara was grateful for the promise given her that she would sing songs of praise
and joy with the Master when He comes to rule upon the earth. Barbara is survived by her
children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a brother, Richard L. Gunn (Jeannine).
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, a sister, Mary Louise Bult
Feighner, and two still-born children, Robert and James. Her family deeply appreciates the
care offered by loving hands at Emeritus Senior Living Center and Sunbrook Hospice.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at noon in the Parleys 5th Ward
chapel, 2615 Stringham Avenue. A viewing will be held at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East
1300 South, Salt Lake City, on Monday evening, October 3, from 6-8 PM and from 10:30-