Mary Ellen Larson Sullivan

With her loving husband, Wesley, by her side, Mary Ellen Larson Sullivan, age 74, passed away on September 5, 2007, after a long and courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Mary was born June 7, 1933, in St. George, Utah, a daughter of Reuben and Rose Beacham Larson.

Mary grew up in St. George, Utah, where she spent a happy childhood on her father's farm in Bloomington. She attended Dixie High School and was a waitress at the Big Hand Cafe. She was part of the Lions Dixie Roundup Royalty in 1949. On July 22, 1951, Wes and Mary were married in Henderson, Nevada, and went on to live in Cedar City, Utah where they had their son, Michael and daughter, Colette. Later, son, Donald, was born in St. George, Utah, and their daughter, Teresa, was born in Casper, Wyoming. Mary's fondest memories were when she was living in a sheep wagon on the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming, while raising three small children, as Wes sheared sheep. Mary Ellen and Wes traveled and hiked their way throughout Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. Her favorite summer was spent following the Lewis and Clark Trail. While living in Las Vegas, Mary joined a ceramics club and discovered she had quite a flair. She loved cross stitching, crocheting, and quilting and made many beautiful pictures and quilts for her children and grandchildren. After retiring from the Clark County School District, Mary spent countless hours searching her family's genealogy and making genealogy books for her children. Mary always took tremendous pride in her grandchildren and was always attending concerts, ball games, plays, and whatever activities with which they were involved.



Mary is survived by her husband, Gordon Wesley, and her children: Michael (Laurie) Sullivan of Henderson, Nevada; Colette (Thomas) Hurley of Las Vegas, Nevada; Donald (Neena Merrill) Sullivan of Cedar City, Utah; Teresa (Russell) Turner of St. George, Utah. She is also survived by twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her siblings are: George Larson, Beverly Larson, Lottie Watoni Laub, Charles Larson, Kelvin Larson, Janice Davidson, and Debra Haskins. She is preceded in death by her parents, her infant daughter, Lisa, and infant grandson, Gregory Hurley.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, September 8, 2007, at 1:00 p.m. at the Spilsbury Mortuary Chapel, 110 S. Bluff St., St. George. A viewing will be held one hour prior to services. Interment will take place at Tonaquint Cemetery.
Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, St. George, UT (435) 673-2454. Friends and family are invited to offer their condolences at www.spilsburymortuary.com.