Hope Umphenour

Hope Huntsman Umphenour, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully in her home on May 1, 2025, at the age of 93.

Hope was born to Ivan Lavon Huntsman and Orillia Adelia Guymon on January 23, 1932, in Castle Dale, Utah. She grew up in a loving home with three brothers. She was raised on a farm where her father was a sheepherder, and she learned to take care of animals. She had many pet sheep which she would dress up. This is where she learned to be industrious, learning her love for gardening and canning. She raised her children to do the same. She loved horseback riding and dreamed of being a trick rider. 4-H was very important in her growing-up years. She was mostly in cooking clubs and raising chickens. Ice skating was her favorite activity in the winter, as well as when her father would pull them around town with a horse-drawn toboggan. In the summer, they swim in the river.

In high school, she worked as a telephone switch operator for $0.25 per hour, also working in the feed store as a clerk and at the courthouse as a typist. She graduated from South Emery High School in 1950. In 1952, she moved to Provo and worked as an IBM operator. She and her friends always went to the dances at BYU. In January 1953, she met Sterling Umphenour at one of these dances. From that time on, they were inseparable; they became engaged on the 4th of July. They were married on September 8, 1953, in the Salt Lake Temple.

Beginning in September 1955, their life began in the Air Force. They lived in many states and out of the country. She was proud to say that each of her 5 daughters were born in a different state, with one being born in Bermuda. The family cherished the time in Bermuda, where she learned to hand-dip chocolates, which they sold to buy curtains for their branch. She also learned how to waterski in the ocean.

After traveling across the United States and out of the country, she came full circle when they settled back in Castle Dale, Utah. After retiring, Hope and Sterling moved to Bountiful, Utah, to be close to their children.

She was a lifelong faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many callings, including Young Women, Primary, and Relief Society organizations as teachers and in Presidencies. Hope and Sterling served a mission in the Orlando, Florida Temple in 1996-1997. Upon their return home, they continued their temple service in the Bountiful Utah Temple as ordinance workers for many years.

Besides, Sterling, the love of her life, and the gospel, her love was for family. She proudly showed off pictures to all who entered her home of all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren that surround her family room wall. Hope had a great love of reading and read a wide variety of books. Until physically unable to continue, she knitted afghans, animals, and made quilts for her grandchildren.

Hope was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, her sweetheart, Sterling, and son, David. She is survived by her 5 daughters, Annette (Terry) Newbold, Kimberly (Mark) Isom, Shelly Umphenour (daughter-in-law), Nancy (Gene) Isom, Myrna (David) Pettit, and Holly (Rohn) Freeman, her 25 grandchildren, and 65 great-grandchildren. She will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her. She leaves a legacy of love and dedication to her children. She taught her family to always respect and have compassion for others in a Christ-like way. She put family first and was a living example of striving to faithfully keep her covenants to the end, even to the last days of her life.

A viewing will be on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Bountiful 4th Ward, 102 East 1400 South, Bountiful. Funeral services will be on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 11:00 am, with a viewing one hour prior to the service at the church. Hope will be laid to rest along side her sweetheart, Sterling, at Memorial Lakeview Cemetery, 1640 East Lakeview Drive, Bountiful.

For those of you who are unable to attend the funeral service, you are welcome to attend virtually by visiting bountiful4thward.org

Please share your memories with her family.