Obituary: VaLois South Chipman

4/30/1906 ~ 4/13/2003

VaLois South Chipman, 96, passed away April 13, 2003 and is now rejoicing with her husband, parents, brothers, sisters, countless friends and loved ones in that paradise promised by the Lord for the righteous who served him valiantly and faithfully unto the end. By her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a lifetime of service, obedience to covenants and the grace of God, she has heard the Savior's gentle phrase, "Well done."

She is the oldest of seven children born to Edward Rich South and Sarah Taylor. She attended Granite High School, played the cello in Frank Asper's orchestra and led the Burton Ward choir in South Salt Lake. She was called to the Eastern State mission at age 18 and served under B.H. Roberts.

Following her mission she received the office job of a lifetime as secretary to Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When Elder Talmage passed away, President J. Reuben Clark, of the First Presidency, invited her to be his secretary. She had great love and respect for all the prophets, seers and revelators, and bore fervent and powerful testimony of them to the end.

After seven years of work for President Clark, she met her husband, W. Paul Chipman, who sang bass in the Burton Ward Choir, which she directed. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple by then Church president, Heber J. Grant, March 21, 1941. They were blessed with four children, Washburn Paul Chipman (Marsha), Taylor South Chipman (Leesa), Matthew South Chipman (Laraine), and Karen (Scott Peisley). Other family members whom she loved as her own are Linda Osentowski and Rita Kennedy. She has 20 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren.

Following the death of her husband, Paul, in a car accident, 1967, VaLois served on the Family Home Evening writing committee, another mission to South Dakota, and a third to Holbrook, AZ among the Lamanites, whom she loved with all her heart. Following her missions she volunteered for seven years as a secretary at the Murray Deseret Industries. Everyone loved her sense of humor. She was a dedicated teacher, an organizer of family reunions and researcher of hundreds of names of her ancestors, which led to thousands of visits to the Lord's temples to do the ordinance work as a savior on mount Zion. But most of all she was a loving and wonderful mother to her children and wife to her eternal companion. "Yes, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."

Viewing at McDougal West Jordan Mortuary, 7800 S. 1861 W, 6-8 p.m. Tues. April 15, 2003. Funeral, 11 a.m. South Jordan LDS Stake Center, 10400 S. 2450 W, South Jordan. A short viewing will be one hour prior to services. Interment, Elysian Burial Gardens.

The family wishes to express their deep appreciation to the Life Care Center of Bountiful for the dedicated service rendered during VaLois's final years.