Gwendolyn King

Gwendolyn Marquardson King of Orem, Utah, passed away peacefully Friday, April 28, 2017, at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, just 20 days shy of her 80th birthday.  She has been in the Orchard Park Care Center for the past eight years following a stroke that left her without the use of her left side and impaired her short-term memory.  She was taken to the hospital Friday morning with a sudden infection that quickly spread through her body, affecting her breathing and blood pressure.  She was lucid, and her children and many of her other posterity and family were all able to see her and express their love and goodbyes before she passed.

She was born May 18, 1937, in Richfield, Utah, to Max Stewart Marquardson and Utahna Morrey Marquardson.  She learned to sing and play the piano, and at the age of 15, she was called to serve as the Sevier Stake Sunday School organist.  Her father was a business instructor at the high school, and during her high school years, she participated in typing and office competitions.  She was a good student and took her studies seriously.  She attended a year of college at BYU, studying English.  It was in an English class where she met her future husband, Norman Ellis King.  They courted and were married on June 19, 1956, in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple.

Following their marriage, the couple lived in Provo while Norman finished school.  After he graduated, they lived several places in the Salt Lake Valley and began raising a young family.  In 1968, they moved to Burley, Idaho where they lived for twelve years.  In 1980, they moved to Orem.

Gwen is remembered by all as a person with a special gift to love and serve others.  She developed this gift because she desired it and earnestly sought it.  In her own words:

For as long as I can remember, I have believed that the gospel is true and lived its teachings.  I have always loved to attend my Church meetings, read Church books and magazines and especially to hear General Conference.  It has been easy for me to obey commandments such as paying tithing, observing the Word of Wisdom and keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  However, I began in my teen years to feel that there was something missing in my life.  I was concerned that I was not living the two great commandments – to love my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ with all my heart and my neighbor as myself.  To be able to truly love and forgive others and to want with all my heart to help them seemed desirable above all other blessings.  Without really understanding what I was seeking nor how to find it, I began to pray for it and to seek it almost constantly.  Somehow, I knew that its acquisition would bring great happiness and peace and joy.

She cared deeply for her children.  When they were growing up, she would take time from her work to color and play with them.  She took time to explain the purpose of rules and commandments so that they wanted to keep them.  She was always there when they came home from school and supported and helped them with school and Church activities and responsibilities.  She taught them to sing and play the piano and to type.  She faithfully held Family Home Evening and taught her children the gospel.  Her children all served missions and were married in the temple.  Even though her own health was poor, she was very interested in their welfare and strived to see that their physical, emotional and spiritual needs were met.  When her children were grown and grandchildren came along, she had the same love and care for them, and each felt deeply loved.  She enjoyed babysitting, playing with and talking to them.

While her family was her primary focus, Gwen’s love extended beyond them.  She was a friend to the lonely and less fortunate.  She had compassion for those who struggled in school, for those who were bullied or rejected and for those who did not have the knowledge of the gospel.  She understood by experience the struggles of those who had health problems or had loved ones who died or who strayed from the gospel.  She served faithfully in Church callings, including Primary, Young Women and Relief Society.  She loved the friends she made in the places she lived and kept in contact with many of them.

Gwen loved the gospel and enjoyed listening to the scriptures, General Conference talks and BYU devotionals.  Her children learned the same love as they observed her intently listening and talking about the things she learned.  She had great faith in the Priesthood and relied on it for leadership and blessings of health, comfort and guidance.  The lessons she taught both by word and example will continue to live on in the lives of those she knew.  We will miss her but rejoice that she is free from the sufferings of this life.

Gwen is survived by her four sons and their spouses, David and Amy King of Lindon, Ronald and Janalee King of Orem, Russell and Shari King of Lehi and Darrell King of Provo, 19 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren, sisters, Kaye and Ronald Bradley of Moroni and Janice Marquardson of Pleasant Grove,  brother, Hal Marquardson of Richfield, and former husband, Norman King of Provo.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, May 4, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. in the Orem Sharon Park 6th Ward Chapel, located at 225 East 200 North, Orem, Utah.  A viewing for friends and family will be held Wednesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, located at 495 South State Street, Orem, Utah, and Thursday at the church from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.  Burial will be in the Orem City Cemetery.  We appreciate the expressions of love and support for Gwen and her family at this time.  We also appreciate the love and care given her by the staff at Orchard Park Care Center for the past eight years.

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