Mourning the Passing of Friends: Forthcoming Funeral Service

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. 

All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”

~ Helen Keller

 

Verla Kay

 

Houser Mecham

 

Verla Kay Houser Mecham, 83, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and friend passed away peacefully August 19, 2023 due to incidents of age.

 

Verla was born July 27,1940 in Payson, Utah to Donald and Shirley Houser.  She loved growing up in Payson and often recalled with fondness the many memories she had with cousins, friends, and her younger brother, Larry.  Although sister and brother, Verla and Larry enjoyed a very close friendship throughout their lives.  Verla’s family will cherish the memory of being able to witness their Uncle Larry visiting Verla a few hours before her passing.  Their devotion to each other as sister and brother has and will continue to be an example to their families.  

 

Verla met her eternal companion, David Edmund Mecham, on August 6, 1957. They were engaged a few short weeks later on August the 20th and married on November 15, 1957.  They were later sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on September 22, 1961. 

 

The two of them spent 63 years together. They raised their family of seven children in Genola, Spanish Fork, Richfield, and Payson. Also, over a period of twelve years, Verla and Dave were foster parents to Timothy Charles, Gilbert Martin, Joann Charlie, and Augustina Teller who they welcomed to their home through the LDS Church’s Native American Placement Program. Augustina was able to recently visit on Verla’s 83rd birthday, which was a wonderful surprise for Verla.  In each place they lived, their home was a gathering place for family and friends to visit, celebrate special occasions, and simply enjoy being “at Grandma’s house”. 

 

Verla was a graduate of Payson High School. While she and her family were living in Richfield and 30 years after she graduated from high school, Verla decided to return to school and earn a nursing degree.  She commented many times how challenging it was to return to school after so many years.  She persevered, graduated, and enjoyed a 25-year career as a nurse working at Country View Manor Assisted Living in Provo.  She loved her co-workers and the patients that she was able to serve during those years.  Her kindness was evident in her interactions with the patients in her care.  

 

Verla and David moved to Mount Pleasant, Utah in 2015 in order to be closer to family.  In each place that they have lived, they developed cherished lifelong friendships which carry on to this day.  Together they loved and supported their family in all of their endeavors. Their family is their greatest joy. Through the years Verla and David could typically be seen at ballgames and other events their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren were involved in. She was always available for each of her family members whenever they needed someone to talk to, receive words of encouragement, or moments of her time.  

 

Verla loved spending time camping and traveling with her family and friends.  It was not the places visited that she loved, it was the time she was able to spend with family and friends that made those events cherished and memorable to her.  

 

Together, Verla and David had a love of the gospel and were faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Over the years she and David enjoyed serving in the temple and doing temple work for ancestors that they were able to find through genealogy work.  

  

Verla is loved by her family and friends and will be greatly missed.  She is survived by her  children: Bryan (Trina) of Mount Pleasant, Lecia Lyon of Mount Pleasant, Michael of Spanish Fork, Daniel (Jana) of Lehi, Darren (Miranda) of Mona, and Amy of Willard, 20 grandchildren,  36 great-grandchildren, and her brother and sister-in-law, Larry and Leila Houser. 

 

She is preceded in death by her husband, David, daughter Marian, a grandson, Derek Potter; a son-in-law Craig Lyon, and her parents. 

 

Funeral services will be held Friday, August 25, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at the Mountain View 7th Ward LDS Church, 681 East 500 North, Payson, Utah 84651. A viewing will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. at the church, prior to the service.

 

Interment will be in the Payson City Cemetery.  

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.walkermemorials.com    Live streaming of the funeral services will be available shortly before 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 25, 2023, at www.walkermemorials.com