Verlene Kunz was born on July 3, 1925 in the tiny southeastern Idaho town of Bern which was founded in 1875 by the Kunz family when they immigrated from Switzerland after converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family were dairymen and cheesemakers and followed those vocations in their new home in Idaho. Mother was extremely proud of her Swiss heritage--all four of her grandparents were born in the old country.
Verlene was the fourth child born to Benjamin and Rosanna Kunz and came fairly late in her mother’s life. Because of health issues, her mother was strongly warned by her doctor that another birth would surely result in both mother and babe not surviving and that the pregnancy should be terminated. I can only imagine the heartbreak of Rosanna and Ben as they faced that terrible choice. They prayed and talked with their bishop, but it was Rosanna’s mother who urged the family to have faith and put it in the Lord’s hands that swayed their decision. Happily, the family was blessed and little Verlene was born into the world healthy and with no harm to her dear mama. She was named after a poem her mother read titled ”Verlene dear Verlene” and was often complimented on her beautiful and unusual name. She began school in Montpelier, Idaho but shortly thereafter the family moved to Salt Lake City where her papa worked for the railroad. Ben had suffered poor health for some time and passed away when Mother was only 16 years old. She adored her papa and this was a very difficult trial to face for one so young.
Mother attended West High in Salt Lake and also LDS Business College where she became very proficient at typing and shorthand. Later these skills were valuable as she was able to take office jobs to help at various times to earn extra household money for the family.
During Mother’s life as a young woman, our country was at war and she told us how she and her friends would go visit the wounded soldiers in the hospitals and how tragic it was to see these young men their own age whose lives were forever changed. She was a very beautiful young lady and had many suitors, but it was a tall handsome Merchant Marine named Stan Baker who was traveling through Salt Lake on his way home to California that charmed her the most. They corresponded regularly and met when possible. When the war was over, they married in Salt Lake City on April 15, 1946. His name was Stanley Ross Baker and he took his bride to live in Alameda, California in the San Francisco bay area, where they made their home and raised their three children. Stan joined the Police Department and Mother took care of children and home.
I was the eldest. Some of my early memories of Verlene as a young mother include her teaching me to iron, hearing the vacuum cleaner running late at night and her teaching me the only way to properly scrub a kitchen floor was on your knees. Our home was always clean and neat as a pin. Her table was always set perfectly with cutlery lined up and a folded napkin beside each plate. Her meals were delicious. We very seldom bought bread or cookies, as she baked fresh every day or two. I have friends who after fifty years still remember coming by after school and being offered a slice of delicious hot bread fresh from mama’s oven. Mother’s Sunday roast dinners were legendary and there were always guests joining our Sunday dinners after church.
Mother served faithfully in church callings through the years. She was a wonderful friend and I remember her often carrying dinners or cookies or flowers to families needing a bit of help. Mother was a list maker and a tireless go-getter. She was prompt to a fault and usually had birthday or Christmas gifts bought, prettily wrapped and displayed in her living room weeks before the actual event. I regret now that we used to tease her sometimes about setting the breakfast table up the night before or having her Thanksgiving table beautifully set two days early! Talk about prepared. You can imagine how frustrating it was for her in her last years to be unable to do much because of her poor arthritic hands and knees.
As the years passed, Mother was very proud that both of her sons served full time missions for our Church. She was very good at quietly supporting family and friends and especially her beloved Stan. Her final support and service to her dear Stan came in 1993 when he fell terminally ill and she watched her strong, healthy husband slowly lose the battle. She nursed him and cared so lovingly for him and was able to keep him in the family home until his death in 1994.
Mother was one of the most generous and gracious souls I’ve ever known and she was a true lady. I remember my Dad used to gently tell me that I should emulate my mother in her ladylike ways. That seems very old fashioned now, but if you could have seen the love and adoration in his eyes when he spoke those words about her, you would never forget it as I have not. Mom and Dad loved music. We grew up hearing them sing to each other…“I’ll be loving you always” or “You are my sunshine” or “It Had to be You….” I like to envision them singing to each other again. So many songs remind me of their great love for one another.
As a Grandma and a Great Grandma, Mother excelled. She already loved children, but when they were her own, oh my…she spoiled them terribly! But she also chose her teaching moments and a favorite memory is of my own two daughters sitting at her dining room table with magazines, crayons and blank paper creating little picture books and treasures, or making cookies in her kitchen or their leisurely drives up to the Oakland hills . When the great grandbabies arrived, Mother was thrilled and cherished every moment she spent with them.
Mother’s last years were difficult. She suffered a fall in her home which ended her independence and ability to live alone. After much coaxing she was persuaded to come to Arizona and let me care for her in her last years until she passed in 2010.
My mother’s life was dedicated to those she loved and to serving the Lord. It had been her sincere desire for some time to join her dear husband, and we know when she passed, there was a joyous heavenly reunion. We love you sweet Mother, we will remember the lessons you have taught us and we will try to continue to make you proud of us. ~Kathlene Baker Clark
Verlene was the fourth child born to Benjamin and Rosanna Kunz and came fairly late in her mother’s life. Because of health issues, her mother was strongly warned by her doctor that another birth would surely result in both mother and babe not surviving and that the pregnancy should be terminated. I can only imagine the heartbreak of Rosanna and Ben as they faced that terrible choice. They prayed and talked with their bishop, but it was Rosanna’s mother who urged the family to have faith and put it in the Lord’s hands that swayed their decision. Happily, the family was blessed and little Verlene was born into the world healthy and with no harm to her dear mama. She was named after a poem her mother read titled ”Verlene dear Verlene” and was often complimented on her beautiful and unusual name. She began school in Montpelier, Idaho but shortly thereafter the family moved to Salt Lake City where her papa worked for the railroad. Ben had suffered poor health for some time and passed away when Mother was only 16 years old. She adored her papa and this was a very difficult trial to face for one so young.
Mother attended West High in Salt Lake and also LDS Business College where she became very proficient at typing and shorthand. Later these skills were valuable as she was able to take office jobs to help at various times to earn extra household money for the family.
During Mother’s life as a young woman, our country was at war and she told us how she and her friends would go visit the wounded soldiers in the hospitals and how tragic it was to see these young men their own age whose lives were forever changed. She was a very beautiful young lady and had many suitors, but it was a tall handsome Merchant Marine named Stan Baker who was traveling through Salt Lake on his way home to California that charmed her the most. They corresponded regularly and met when possible. When the war was over, they married in Salt Lake City on April 15, 1946. His name was Stanley Ross Baker and he took his bride to live in Alameda, California in the San Francisco bay area, where they made their home and raised their three children. Stan joined the Police Department and Mother took care of children and home.
I was the eldest. Some of my early memories of Verlene as a young mother include her teaching me to iron, hearing the vacuum cleaner running late at night and her teaching me the only way to properly scrub a kitchen floor was on your knees. Our home was always clean and neat as a pin. Her table was always set perfectly with cutlery lined up and a folded napkin beside each plate. Her meals were delicious. We very seldom bought bread or cookies, as she baked fresh every day or two. I have friends who after fifty years still remember coming by after school and being offered a slice of delicious hot bread fresh from mama’s oven. Mother’s Sunday roast dinners were legendary and there were always guests joining our Sunday dinners after church.
Mother served faithfully in church callings through the years. She was a wonderful friend and I remember her often carrying dinners or cookies or flowers to families needing a bit of help. Mother was a list maker and a tireless go-getter. She was prompt to a fault and usually had birthday or Christmas gifts bought, prettily wrapped and displayed in her living room weeks before the actual event. I regret now that we used to tease her sometimes about setting the breakfast table up the night before or having her Thanksgiving table beautifully set two days early! Talk about prepared. You can imagine how frustrating it was for her in her last years to be unable to do much because of her poor arthritic hands and knees.
As the years passed, Mother was very proud that both of her sons served full time missions for our Church. She was very good at quietly supporting family and friends and especially her beloved Stan. Her final support and service to her dear Stan came in 1993 when he fell terminally ill and she watched her strong, healthy husband slowly lose the battle. She nursed him and cared so lovingly for him and was able to keep him in the family home until his death in 1994.
Mother was one of the most generous and gracious souls I’ve ever known and she was a true lady. I remember my Dad used to gently tell me that I should emulate my mother in her ladylike ways. That seems very old fashioned now, but if you could have seen the love and adoration in his eyes when he spoke those words about her, you would never forget it as I have not. Mom and Dad loved music. We grew up hearing them sing to each other…“I’ll be loving you always” or “You are my sunshine” or “It Had to be You….” I like to envision them singing to each other again. So many songs remind me of their great love for one another.
As a Grandma and a Great Grandma, Mother excelled. She already loved children, but when they were her own, oh my…she spoiled them terribly! But she also chose her teaching moments and a favorite memory is of my own two daughters sitting at her dining room table with magazines, crayons and blank paper creating little picture books and treasures, or making cookies in her kitchen or their leisurely drives up to the Oakland hills . When the great grandbabies arrived, Mother was thrilled and cherished every moment she spent with them.
Mother’s last years were difficult. She suffered a fall in her home which ended her independence and ability to live alone. After much coaxing she was persuaded to come to Arizona and let me care for her in her last years until she passed in 2010.
My mother’s life was dedicated to those she loved and to serving the Lord. It had been her sincere desire for some time to join her dear husband, and we know when she passed, there was a joyous heavenly reunion. We love you sweet Mother, we will remember the lessons you have taught us and we will try to continue to make you proud of us. ~Kathlene Baker Clark
Verlene Kunz was born on July 3, 1925 in the tiny southeastern Idaho town of Bern which was founded in 1875 by the Kunz family when they immigrated from Switzerland after converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family were dairymen and cheesemakers and followed those vocations in their new home in Idaho. Mother was extremely proud of her Swiss heritage--all four of her grandparents were born in the old country.
Verlene was the fourth child born to Benjamin and Rosanna Kunz and came fairly late in her mother’s life. Because of health issues, her mother was strongly warned by her doctor that another birth would surely result in both mother and babe not surviving and that the pregnancy should be terminated. I can only imagine the heartbreak of Rosanna and Ben as they faced that terrible choice. They prayed and talked with their bishop, but it was Rosanna’s mother who urged the family to have faith and put it in the Lord’s hands that swayed their decision. Happily, the family was blessed and little Verlene was born into the world healthy and with no harm to her dear mama. She was named after a poem her mother read titled ”Verlene dear Verlene” and was often complimented on her beautiful and unusual name. She began school in Montpelier, Idaho but shortly thereafter the family moved to Salt Lake City where her papa worked for the railroad. Ben had suffered poor health for some time and passed away when Mother was only 16 years old. She adored her papa and this was a very difficult trial to face for one so young.
Mother attended West High in Salt Lake and also LDS Business College where she became very proficient at typing and shorthand. Later these skills were valuable as she was able to take office jobs to help at various times to earn extra household money for the family.
During Mother’s life as a young woman, our country was at war and she told us how she and her friends would go visit the wounded soldiers in the hospitals and how tragic it was to see these young men their own age whose lives were forever changed. She was a very beautiful young lady and had many suitors, but it was a tall handsome Merchant Marine named Stan Baker who was traveling through Salt Lake on his way home to California that charmed her the most. They corresponded regularly and met when possible. When the war was over, they married in Salt Lake City on April 15, 1946. His name was Stanley Ross Baker and he took his bride to live in Alameda, California in the San Francisco bay area, where they made their home and raised their three children. Stan joined the Police Department and Mother took care of children and home.
I was the eldest. Some of my early memories of Verlene as a young mother include her teaching me to iron, hearing the vacuum cleaner running late at night and her teaching me the only way to properly scrub a kitchen floor was on your knees. Our home was always clean and neat as a pin. Her table was always set perfectly with cutlery lined up and a folded napkin beside each plate. Her meals were delicious. We very seldom bought bread or cookies, as she baked fresh every day or two. I have friends who after fifty years still remember coming by after school and being offered a slice of delicious hot bread fresh from mama’s oven. Mother’s Sunday roast dinners were legendary and there were always guests joining our Sunday dinners after church.
Mother served faithfully in church callings through the years. She was a wonderful friend and I remember her often carrying dinners or cookies or flowers to families needing a bit of help. Mother was a list maker and a tireless go-getter. She was prompt to a fault and usually had birthday or Christmas gifts bought, prettily wrapped and displayed in her living room weeks before the actual event. I regret now that we used to tease her sometimes about setting the breakfast table up the night before or having her Thanksgiving table beautifully set two days early! Talk about prepared. You can imagine how frustrating it was for her in her last years to be unable to do much because of her poor arthritic hands and knees.
As the years passed, Mother was very proud that both of her sons served full time missions for our Church. She was very good at quietly supporting family and friends and especially her beloved Stan. Her final support and service to her dear Stan came in 1993 when he fell terminally ill and she watched her strong, healthy husband slowly lose the battle. She nursed him and cared so lovingly for him and was able to keep him in the family home until his death in 1994.
Mother was one of the most generous and gracious souls I’ve ever known and she was a true lady. I remember my Dad used to gently tell me that I should emulate my mother in her ladylike ways. That seems very old fashioned now, but if you could have seen the love and adoration in his eyes when he spoke those words about her, you would never forget it as I have not. Mom and Dad loved music. We grew up hearing them sing to each other…“I’ll be loving you always” or “You are my sunshine” or “It Had to be You….” I like to envision them singing to each other again. So many songs remind me of their great love for one another.
As a Grandma and a Great Grandma, Mother excelled. She already loved children, but when they were her own, oh my…she spoiled them terribly! But she also chose her teaching moments and a favorite memory is of my own two daughters sitting at her dining room table with magazines, crayons and blank paper creating little picture books and treasures, or making cookies in her kitchen or their leisurely drives up to the Oakland hills . When the great grandbabies arrived, Mother was thrilled and cherished every moment she spent with them.
Mother’s last years were difficult. She suffered a fall in her home which ended her independence and ability to live alone. After much coaxing she was persuaded to come to Arizona and let me care for her in her last years until she passed in 2010.
My mother’s life was dedicated to those she loved and to serving the Lord. It had been her sincere desire for some time to join her dear husband, and we know when she passed, there was a joyous heavenly reunion. We love you sweet Mother, we will remember the lessons you have taught us and we will try to continue to make you proud of us. ~Kathlene Baker Clark
Verlene was the fourth child born to Benjamin and Rosanna Kunz and came fairly late in her mother’s life. Because of health issues, her mother was strongly warned by her doctor that another birth would surely result in both mother and babe not surviving and that the pregnancy should be terminated. I can only imagine the heartbreak of Rosanna and Ben as they faced that terrible choice. They prayed and talked with their bishop, but it was Rosanna’s mother who urged the family to have faith and put it in the Lord’s hands that swayed their decision. Happily, the family was blessed and little Verlene was born into the world healthy and with no harm to her dear mama. She was named after a poem her mother read titled ”Verlene dear Verlene” and was often complimented on her beautiful and unusual name. She began school in Montpelier, Idaho but shortly thereafter the family moved to Salt Lake City where her papa worked for the railroad. Ben had suffered poor health for some time and passed away when Mother was only 16 years old. She adored her papa and this was a very difficult trial to face for one so young.
Mother attended West High in Salt Lake and also LDS Business College where she became very proficient at typing and shorthand. Later these skills were valuable as she was able to take office jobs to help at various times to earn extra household money for the family.
During Mother’s life as a young woman, our country was at war and she told us how she and her friends would go visit the wounded soldiers in the hospitals and how tragic it was to see these young men their own age whose lives were forever changed. She was a very beautiful young lady and had many suitors, but it was a tall handsome Merchant Marine named Stan Baker who was traveling through Salt Lake on his way home to California that charmed her the most. They corresponded regularly and met when possible. When the war was over, they married in Salt Lake City on April 15, 1946. His name was Stanley Ross Baker and he took his bride to live in Alameda, California in the San Francisco bay area, where they made their home and raised their three children. Stan joined the Police Department and Mother took care of children and home.
I was the eldest. Some of my early memories of Verlene as a young mother include her teaching me to iron, hearing the vacuum cleaner running late at night and her teaching me the only way to properly scrub a kitchen floor was on your knees. Our home was always clean and neat as a pin. Her table was always set perfectly with cutlery lined up and a folded napkin beside each plate. Her meals were delicious. We very seldom bought bread or cookies, as she baked fresh every day or two. I have friends who after fifty years still remember coming by after school and being offered a slice of delicious hot bread fresh from mama’s oven. Mother’s Sunday roast dinners were legendary and there were always guests joining our Sunday dinners after church.
Mother served faithfully in church callings through the years. She was a wonderful friend and I remember her often carrying dinners or cookies or flowers to families needing a bit of help. Mother was a list maker and a tireless go-getter. She was prompt to a fault and usually had birthday or Christmas gifts bought, prettily wrapped and displayed in her living room weeks before the actual event. I regret now that we used to tease her sometimes about setting the breakfast table up the night before or having her Thanksgiving table beautifully set two days early! Talk about prepared. You can imagine how frustrating it was for her in her last years to be unable to do much because of her poor arthritic hands and knees.
As the years passed, Mother was very proud that both of her sons served full time missions for our Church. She was very good at quietly supporting family and friends and especially her beloved Stan. Her final support and service to her dear Stan came in 1993 when he fell terminally ill and she watched her strong, healthy husband slowly lose the battle. She nursed him and cared so lovingly for him and was able to keep him in the family home until his death in 1994.
Mother was one of the most generous and gracious souls I’ve ever known and she was a true lady. I remember my Dad used to gently tell me that I should emulate my mother in her ladylike ways. That seems very old fashioned now, but if you could have seen the love and adoration in his eyes when he spoke those words about her, you would never forget it as I have not. Mom and Dad loved music. We grew up hearing them sing to each other…“I’ll be loving you always” or “You are my sunshine” or “It Had to be You….” I like to envision them singing to each other again. So many songs remind me of their great love for one another.
As a Grandma and a Great Grandma, Mother excelled. She already loved children, but when they were her own, oh my…she spoiled them terribly! But she also chose her teaching moments and a favorite memory is of my own two daughters sitting at her dining room table with magazines, crayons and blank paper creating little picture books and treasures, or making cookies in her kitchen or their leisurely drives up to the Oakland hills . When the great grandbabies arrived, Mother was thrilled and cherished every moment she spent with them.
Mother’s last years were difficult. She suffered a fall in her home which ended her independence and ability to live alone. After much coaxing she was persuaded to come to Arizona and let me care for her in her last years until she passed in 2010.
My mother’s life was dedicated to those she loved and to serving the Lord. It had been her sincere desire for some time to join her dear husband, and we know when she passed, there was a joyous heavenly reunion. We love you sweet Mother, we will remember the lessons you have taught us and we will try to continue to make you proud of us. ~Kathlene Baker Clark
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