Madge Cummins Shipley Obituary (1920 - 2019)

Madge Cummins Shipley of Aberdeen, Idaho; Pleasant Grove, Utah; and South Jordan, Utah passed away on 24 August, 2019 at the age of 99. She is survived by her sister, Marian Clark; her nine children: Lorraine (John) Hulme, Barbara (Norman) Badger, Sandra (Thomas) Steele, Janet (Arthur) Meacham, Gerald Lynn (Lucinda) Shipley, Mary Lee (Kevin) Sorensen, John Lloyd (Cynthia) Shipley, Anthony Roy (Kathleen) Shipley, and Christopher Paul (Melanie) Shipley; along with 59 grandchildren and 138 great-grandchildren. She is preceded by her husband, Gerald Smith Shipley, and four grandchildren: Shauna Badger, Richard Keith Sorenson, Thomas England Steele, and Samuel Ammon Meacham. Madge was born 16 July 1920 in Cooley, Arizona, the fifth of six children of Frank Cummins and Agnes Estella McLaws. Her grandparents, John and Sophie McLaws, were among the first settlers of northern Arizona at Joseph City. She attended Holbrook High School and graduated first in her high school class, but did not attend college in order to help support her family in the absence of her father, who died when she was thirteen years old. Madge spent her life in service to her family, neighbors, and others. She married Gerald Smith Shipley on 8 September 1945 in the Mesa Arizona Temple. They moved to a farm near Aberdeen, Idaho in 1953 and raised their nine children there while building a successful dairy. Despite sometimes struggling financially, Madge ensured that her children had opportunities to develop their musical and other talents and encouraged them to seek university educations. She never had an unkind word to say about anyone. Madge served as an ordinance worker in the Idaho Falls Temple, in the Primary and Relief Society, and was active in family history. She was an early adopter of computerized family history work and served as a ward and stake family history consultant and as an indexing worker. She was a master indexer and always led her ward and stake in the number of records indexed. After retiring from the dairy, Gerald and Madge moved to Letha, ID for several years and then to Pleasant Grove, Utah, where they were active in their ward and made many friends in the Thorneberry retirement community. Madge lived with her daughter Barbara in South Jordan UT for the last three years of her life and again made many friends in her new neighborhood and ward. The family expresses its gratitude to Inspiration Hospice for their many visits and wonderful support. Funeral services will be as follows: Viewing Thursday, 29 August from 6 to 8 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Chapel, 1007 W. South Jordan Pkwy, South Jordan, UT 84095 Viewing Friday, 30 August at 10:00 at the LDS chapel at 3407 W 9625 S, South Jordan, UT Funeral Friday, 30 August at 11:00 at the LDS chapel at 3407 W 9625 S, South Jordan, Ut Interment will take place in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery at 2:30 pm.