Edith Melvina Pope Nicolaysen

1928 - 2016

Edith Melvina Pope Nicolaysen

December 5, 1928 - April 1, 2016

Long-time Salem resident Edith Melvina Pope Nicolaysen, 87, died peacefully April 1, 2016 in Bountiful, Utah. Edith was born December 5, 1928 to Archie Glen and Fern Croshaw Pope, in Pocatello, Idaho. When she was eight years old, her family moved to Southern California before settling three years later in Turlock, California. She worked hard on the family farm. During the Depression and World War II years she learned her strong work ethic.

Edith graduated from Hughson High School and one week later married Stanley O. Nicolaysen on June 18, 1947, in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). They were married 65 years before Stanley passed away in 2012. She then moved to Bountiful, Utah.

Edith and Stanley raised their family of eight children in Ripon and Manteca, California before moving the family to Salem in 1968 where they busily began building their Taco Bell business.

Edith's highest commitments were to the Savior Jesus Christ, her husband and her children. Her greatest joy was in being a homemaker. She loved being a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She gave much service to her church and community. She gained great satisfaction in making her home beautiful and helping others feel welcome there. Throughout her life she loved to sing and often shared her musical talent.

She was an active member of the LDS Church and served in a variety of callings. She enjoyed serving as an ordinance worker in the Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon LDS Temples with her husband. She also served as an Assistant to the Matron in the Portland Temple for three years. She and Stanley served an 18-month LDS mission in the England London South Mission.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley; her parents; and two older sisters, Ruth Horn and Velma Openshaw. She is survived by her son, Timothy (Sally), of South Jordan, Utah; son, S. Carl (Pam), of Nampa, Idaho; daughter, Marian Sellers (Daniel), of Bountiful, Utah; daughter, Barbara Sabin (Brian), of Safford, Arizona; daughter, Geraldine Roberts (Robert), of Salem, Oregon; daughter, Elaine Miles (Roger), of Gilbert, Arizona; son, Duane (Tammy), of Salem, Oregon; daughter, Karen Baxter (Gregory), of Baker City, Oregon; and sisters Leila Norton and Lois Killpack, both of South Jordan, Utah. Her posterity includes 31 grandchildren and 78 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 4550 Lone Oak Road Southeast, in Salem. Visitation will be from 10:00 -10:45 a.m. Interment will be at Restlawn Memory Gardens in West Salem. Assisting the family is Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service.