Vivian Hawkins Fellows

Vivian Straaberg Hawkins Fellows,  94, passed away January 25, 2016.

She was born to Hyrum Axel Straaberg and Johanna Martina Andersen September 28, 1921, in Salt Lake City, the youngest of 11 children. All have preceded her in death. Vivian was proud of her Scandinavian heritage. Both parents were immigrants to the US, her father arriving from Norway and her mother from Denmark. Mom attended Lincoln Junior High and graduated from South High. She always remembered those days with fondness as some of her best.

As a young adult she worked at an arms plant in the Salt Lake area, where she lived most of her life. She worked in California for the Signal Corps during WWII. After the war she met and married South Pacific veteran Eugene Hardy Hawkins in the family home in Sugar House; she was married to "Jimmy" until his death in 1975. Together, they raised a son and a daughter, James Craig Hawkins (Judy) of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Susan Lee Hawkins (Dane Beck) of Salt Lake City. Our mother was active in Boy Scouting when younger, serving as den mother for Cubs while living in the Canyon Rim area. Later, she was highly involved in Little League and Pony League Baseball organizations, serving as official scorekeeper for the Midvale teams her son played on. Mom felt passionately about the value of such programs for their influence in keeping kids out of trouble.

While living in Midvale, she was a member of Ladies Guild, serving for a time as its president. During these formative years of her children's lives, she was a great supporter and nurturer, always ready to listen to their troubles and successes. A stay-at-home mom, Vivian was a wonderful cook and-way back then-a pretty good housekeeper. She managed finances efficiently and kept the family healthy, happy and secure.

When her husband died in 1975 following heart surgery in Palo Alto, CA, Viv faced a new set of challenges as a widow. For a couple of years, she worked as a teller at State Savings and Loan in Murray.

In 1979 she renewed an old high school acquaintance with A. Wilford Fellows, also recently widowed. The two were married by Vivian's son, Craig, then Bishop of a Salem, Oregon LDS ward. Wilf and Vivian shared 18 good years together at the home they built in Cottonwood Heights, traveling to foreign countries and enjoying the company of friends, relatives and members of their LDS wards. Wilford died of congestive heart failure in 1998. Our mother remained in their home in Fort Union until moving into her son's home in Twin Falls last August.

Mom was independent, spunky and much fun to tease, and always ready to go for a drive in the car. She was loyal to her family in everything she did and instilled the values of sharing, saving and self-sacrifice in her two children. Mom adored the companionship of dogs and cats and played pinochle and other card games with friends. She also preserved fruits and vegetables well into her eighties and doted over her raspberry bushes. Viv was intensely interested in national politics and kept herself well informed through television and newspaper. For many years she was an election poll judge and enjoyed meeting people in that capacity.

She is survived by her two children, eight grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be Saturday, January 30, 2016, at 1:30 at Goff Mortuary, 8090 So. State Street, Midvale. Visitation will be held there a half hour before services.