Elizabeth Mae Simper Harvey
Elizabeth Mae Simper Harvey
1928 – 2022
Elizabeth “Betty” Mae Simper Harvey, loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and sister returned to her Heavenly Father at the age of 94 on September 24, 2022. She passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her family. She was born on August 13, 1928, in Pleasant Grove, Utah to her father Noel Thomas Simper and her mother Olive Maurine Adamson; she was the second of four children.
Shortly after birth, Elizabeth and her family moved to Murray and then to Kamas, Utah. As the oldest girl, her parents relied on her for many household responsibilities and to help care for her siblings. This sparked a desire to start a family of her own one day. She loved the traditions and memories her family created in Kamas.
When Elizabeth was 13 years old, the family moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah where she started walking to school with a boy her age: Kenneth Harvey. It was love at first sight, and she knew in her heart that she would marry him someday! They were inseparable childhood sweethearts. Their favorite date was attending dances together and dancing to the song “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” In the 11th grade, Ken asked Elizabeth to “go steady,” which they did through the rest of high school, his freshmen year of college, and during Ken’s two-and-a-half-year LDS mission to the Hawaiian islands.
On September 17, 1950, their fairytale began when Ken asked for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage in American Fork Canyon with a diamond ring “prize” in a Cracker Jack box. They were married and sealed two months later on November 10, 1950, in the Salt Lake Temple by Joseph Fielding Smith. Elizabeth recounted that one of her favorite memories from her wedding day was when she and Ken danced to their song “Always” at the end of their reception. She truly loved Ken “Always.”
Elizabeth’s greatest passion was for her family. As the mother of three children – Richard, Kathy, and Cindy – she devoted her life to creating a heaven on earth for her family. She loved getting together with family for Sunday dinners and holidays, going shopping with her girls at ZCMI in Salt Lake, and teaching her family gospel principles. Later, she enjoyed visiting and sharing stories with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, hosting sleepovers and family parties, and attending her grandchildren’s special events. Her love for her own eternal family naturally led Elizabeth to love the temple. Elizabeth and Ken served many years in the Provo and Mount Timpanogos Temples. She said, “The closest place to heaven is being in the temple.” As a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she served in numerous other church callings, but her favorite was teaching Sunday School.
Everyone who knew Elizabeth knew her as a woman of faith, strength, kindness, generosity, sensitivity, and charity. When asked for marriage or parenting advice, her response was always, “Just love them.” She left behind a legacy of love.
Elizabeth Harvey was preceded in death by her parents, Noel Thomas and Olive Maurine Simper, her brother, James Simper, and her sister, Marilyn Shields. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Harvey, her sister, Geniel (Darson) Roper, her children, Richard Harvey, Kathy (Dale) Poulson, and Cindy (Paul) Hopkins, her eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
We all love her “Always.”
Funeral services will be held Thursday, September 29, 2022, at 11:00 am in the Alpine Country Club LDS Chapel located at 5212 West Country Club Drive, Highland, UT. A viewing will be held prior to the funeral from 9:30-10:30 am. The interment will be in the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
Broadcast can be viewed at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gSsnG2oTm0
We would like to thank all our family, friends, neighbors, A-Plus Hospice, and Warenski Funeral Home for the loving support we’ve received during this time.