Eunice Bjorkman Smith Larsen

Eunice Bjorkman Smith Larsen was born on Aug. 18, 1932, in a farmhouse near Bancroft, Idaho. She grew up on a small ranch near that same town. Her parents were Alfred Hermond "Herman" Smith and Eleda Bjorkman Smith. She was the third of four siblings, including brothers Alan Smith and Max Smith and younger sister Wilma Zubli.

She graduated from Bancroft's North Gem High School in 1950. She attended the LDS Business College in Salt Lake City. While there, she met Donald Wayne Larsen, whom she married on Jan. 24, 1952, in the Logan, Utah, LDS Temple. From that union, five children were born: Kevin, Eric, Howard, Boyd and Amy. The Larsens moved to Billings in 1957. The five children, now grown to maturity and scattered around the country with their families are: Kevin in Laramie, Wyo.; Eric in Billings; Howard in Hacienda Heights, Calif.; Boyd in College Station, Texas; and Amy in Carson, Calif.

Eunice passed away on Feb. 26, 2012, after a heroic struggle of 13 years against Parkinson's disease, that progressively debilitating and cruelly degenerative affliction. She has now joyfully reunited with her beloved husband, who had preceded her in death by 24 years.

She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She cultivated other interests, as well. For a number of years after her husband's passing, she co-owned and ran a small business. She was also an avid reader, an able gardener and a family historian, spending countless hours on genealogical research. She excelled at many homemaking skills, and was an exceptional bread maker and seamstress. She worked in 4-H, and helped with numerous Boy Scout merit badges over the years. She dabbled in politics, serving as Republican committeewoman for several years. She was active in the LDS Church, serving in numerous "callings," including teaching the same adult Sunday School class for over 16 years. To discharge that role effectively, she became an even more avid student of the Scriptures.

Eunice is survived by her older brother, Alan Smith of Boise, Idaho; as well as by her five children and their families, including 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

We thank her for the love of books and learning, strong work ethic and self-sufficiency that she instilled in each of her children. We mourn her passing, but celebrate her life and good works.

Visitation will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 2, at Michelotti-Sawyers Mortuary, 1001 Alderson Ave. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake Center, 2929 Belvedere Drive. Interment will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

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