Dahrl Billings

Dahrl Thompson Billings, 87, of Orem, Utah, passed away peacefully at her home in Orem on Thursday, January 19, 2017.

Dahrl was born November 2, 1929, in Elwood, Utah, the last of 10 Children born to Soren Junius Thompson and Garda Victoria "Tory" Anderson.

She attended elementary school in Elwood and junior high and high school in Tremonton, Utah. She graduated from Bear River High School in 1947 where she performed in choirs and musical productions. She attended Utah State Agricultural College for one year before transferring to Brigham Young University where she met her husband, Victor Dunn Billings. They were sealed in the Logan Utah Temple on June 9, 1950.

Dahrl and Victor had severe challenges as they began their family before the discovery of the “rh factor” in blood types. Victor’s blood type was “positive” and Dahrl’s was “negative” which caused her babies to treat their own blood as a toxin. Of her nine pregnancies, only four of their children survived and grew to adulthood. Dahrl participated in scientific research studies that helped find a successful treatment for the rh factor condition.

During their married life, Dahrl and Victor housed many borders as a service and a way to enrich their income. After Victor graduated from BYU, they purchased a house that was divided into three apartments; two upstairs and one in the basement just north of the current BYU football stadium. The room and board included a lunch and dinner which Dahrl would prepare for the “boys” living in Stadium House. Those students managed one day to get a horse down the stairs into their apartment. Dahrl would cringe when telling how big a mess that made and how difficult it was for the owner of the horse to get him back outside.

After her four children were in school, Dahrl began working in the Cannon Center cafeteria at BYU. When she found she could inexpensively take classes at BYU as an employee, she signed up for classes and eventually earned a Bachelor’s degree in education. With that degree, she spent more than 20 years teaching 1st and 2nd grade students in the Provo School District. One of the hallmarks of her classroom was a reading treehouse that was designed by her and built by Victor that included steps carved out of a 4-foot diameter tree trunk.

After she and Victor retired from full-time employment, they served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the California San Diego Mission.

In her later years, doctors discovered that Dahrl had macular degeneration which damages the vision in the center of the eye. Dahrl participated in studies that have discovered how to slow the damage. Even with her deteriorating eye sight she was an avid genealogist. She produced many thousands of temple cards that were passed to family members and friends. She was determined that the temple work would be completed. After Victor’s death, she committed two full days a week serving in LDS temples in Utah and Arizona. Most days she would arrive at the temple at 7:30 a.m. and would finish in the late afternoon in order to seal these families together. She continued that effort until just last year when her health declined.

Dahrl is survived by her four children, Victor Thompson "Tom" (Terry) Billings of Orem, Irene Ann (Doug) Tullis of Orem, John Vern (Janice of Bountiful, Utah) Billings of Spokane, Washington, and David Titus (Carole) Billings of Mesa, Arizona; twenty-four grandchildren; and 43 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, located at the Stonewood LDS Stake Center at 450 South 100 West, Orem, Utah. Viewings will be held on Monday, January 23, 2017, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary located at 495 South State Street, Orem, Utah, and just prior to the service on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the stake center.

Condolences may be left for the family here on this site.