Lenora Jean Poulsen Obituary (1926 - 2013)

Our adorable mother, Lenora Jean Poulsen, passed from this life Monday, December 2, 2013. She was born February 7, 1926, in Bellingham, Washington to Leonidas Moroni Pratt and Sarah Etta Bailey. As the youngest girl and a natural dark-haired beauty, she was the darling of the family and the center of their attention and affection. As a little girl, she would stand on any tree stump and recite little poems to what ever audience she could get. They loved her dark eyes and animation and she loved the attention. When mom was 18 she met a handsome Navy sailor, Blaine Marlen Poulsen, who visited their L.D.S. ward in Bellingham. She liked to tell how they became engaged and about their harrowing trip in a railroad car full of soldiers on leave from their duties in World War II to be married in the Salt Lake Temple. When she got there she was covered in coal soot from the pot belly stove in the rail car. They had only a few days 'leave' from the service. By miracle chance, they met a second cousin of Mom's and were able to pass the 'medical physical' requirements to obtain a marriage license; then on to the temple just before the gate closed for the day. They were able to get back without being AWOL. This union eventually produced ten offspring; 7 boys and 3 girls; by name and age they are Michael, Hal, Dana, Lora Lee, Randy, Mark, Lyle, Troy, James and Heather. During all these years mom worked hard, was very frugal, and taught us all of the home-spun values of life. Frequently, to her credit, mom studied the scriptures. This in-depth knowledge lead her to be a good scriptorian. But eventually she enjoyed the accolades of being a learned teacher and was seduced through her own spiritual "pride" to leave the church and, then, the family. She was 50 years old at this point and went off to "stump for Zion". Fast forward, mom eventually rejoined the family. She enjoyed being in the company of her children. As a family, we love her dearly and enjoyed so much her presence at all our BYU game day's, family lunches, Thankful Thursday, Chicken Monday and other family past-times. Mom was known by all her neighbors and the residents at Pioneer Villa and other places she frequented for her sweet disposition and positive, friendly nature and fancy manner of dress. True to her vanity streak, she loved dressing up in bright colors, although she would never pay more than five dollars for her clothes. Her sense of humor and adventuresome spirit led her to great heights as shown in this final photo taken of her in the tree house seven weeks ago. She had climbed up there disregarding her lymphoma and age. When faced with her own mortality Mom expressed regret for some of her previous actions and, before she passed, sought re-baptism into the Church. On Thursday, December 5, following the viewing at 9:30 AM, the funeral will take place at 11:00 in the L.D.S. Chapel on 60 S. Main in Salem, Utah. Internment is at the Orem City Cemetery.