Virginia Bills Izatt

Virginia Bills Christensen Izatt
1931-2007
On 2 June 1931, in Riverton, Utah, a precious bundle of joy was delivered to Leo DeMont Bills and Elizabeth (Beth) Steadman Bills, on Beth's birthday. Leo and Beth named their firstborn Virginia. She was the oldest of the six children who were born to Leo and Beth over the next 16 years. Virginia lived in a home of love and this quality radiated out to all who knew her throughout her life. After a long illness, she departed this world peacefully on 28 November 2007 at Courtyard at Jamestown in Provo, Utah, her home since 25 June 2003.
Virginia was an excellent student with a wide interest in many fields of learning. She graduated from the University of Utah in 1952 with a degree in Education and began teaching at the elementary school level. While at the University, she met, was courted by, and fell in love with James J. Christensen, Jr., a student in chemical engineering. Virginia often related that her father, who had served a three year LDS mission to Germany, had a special personal interest in seeing Jim baptized. Leo's efforts were culminated on 10 June 1954 when Jim was baptized by him. Jim and Virginia were married 10 June 1952 in Salt Lake City and were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple 28 December 1955. Their union was blessed with five children, four boys and, finally, the girl that Virginia always wanted. (The boys were always glad that Holly didn't arrive first.) Their home was one of fun, love, activity and opportunity. Jim and Virginia loved their children and together they shared many activities. One memorable experience was a five-day whitewater rafting trip in June 1972 with Virginia's parents through the Grand Canyon on the rapids of the Colorado River.
Following Jim's graduation from the University of Utah, Jim and Virginia moved in their old Studebaker to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Jim had been accepted in the Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Program at Carnegie Mellon University. Here their first two sons, Mark and Larry, were born. Virginia settled easily into the role of Mother with many letters home and photographs attesting to the joy she felt and the excitement of being a new mother.
In 1957, the young family moved to Provo, Utah where Jim had accepted a faculty position at Brigham Young University. Blake, Scott and Holly soon joined the family and Virginia found life to be very busy. She loved to travel and have new experiences. Sabbatical leaves allowed the family to live for extended periods in other parts of the United States and in Oxford, England and Mexico City .
Virginia had a lifelong quest for learning. She took many foreign languages (French, German, Spanish, and Korean) and other classes at BYU. She also served for many years as a Docent in the BYU Museum of Art for exhibits such as the 1985 Ramses II, 1993 Etruscan, and 1995 Imperial Tombs of China. In 1957, she and Jim were co-founders of a Great Books Club composed of several BYU faculty members and their spouses. This club met monthly and continues in 2007 to meet with vigorous discussions about some of the world's great and not so great literature. Virginia was an active participant until progressive dementia necessitated her move to Courtyard Jamestown in Provo in 2003. She read widely and liked to read articles to her children while driving to visit Jim's parents in Las Vegas. She was especially fond of Erma Bombeck's writings, Carol Lynn Pearson's poems, and the cartoon strip Crankshaft. She had a letter to the editor published in Newsweek Magazine. She was also an active member at BYU in BYU Women, Engineering Wives, and the Chemistry Catalyst Club.
Virginia came from pioneer heritage. Her ancestors had been among the earliest converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her paternal great-great-Grandfather John Bills was a personal tailor to Joseph Smith and her maternal great-Grandfather was J. Rex Winder, a member of the LDS First Presidency in the early 1900s. Her ancestors were prominent pioneers in the Draper, Riverton, South Jordan, and Salt Lake City areas. Her heritage was important to Virginia. She shared the beliefs of her progenitors and taught them to her family. She was a faithful and active member of the LDS Church serving in many responsible positions. She especially enjoyed Relief Society and cooked many meals for families in need.
Virginia was very organized. When she went on overseas business trips with Jim, she would leave detailed instructions with Jim's graduate students and their wives who cared for the Christensen children giving the exact activities expected during their absence. (Which, unfortunately, did not include watching television until midnight on a school night!) The scrapbooks, photo albums, yearly Christmas letters, and annual letters to each of her children provide a remembrance of how much she cared and of her pride in the activities and accomplishments of her family.
On 5 September 1987, Virginia was deprived of her soulmate and best friend when Jim died suddenly of a heart attack. She was devastated, but carried on much as she had before, leading her family as they entered a new sphere of marriages, births of grandchildren, and new lives in various parts of the USA. Her Mother was widowed in April 1980 and these two ladies developed a particularly close relationship that lasted until Beth's death on 28 May 2003. They lived near each other in Provo, traveled together extensively and provided a nucleus for visits by their children and grandchildren.
On 24 October 1998, Virginia and a recently widowed longtime friend and former research partner of Jim's, Reed M. Izatt, were married in Provo, Utah. True to form, Virginia had inscribed in their wedding bands the words "I love you." One of the last things she told Reed before she slipped into her own private world in 2003 was "I have told you that I love you everyday since we were married." This statement exemplified Virginia's life. She did really care about her loved ones and this love extended to everyone with whom she became close. She and Reed enjoyed their few years together. They traveled extensively during this time to visit children and stepchildren and to attend scientific meetings worldwide.
Virginia is survived by her husband Reed M. Izatt, Provo, UT; five children, Mark (Socorro) Christensen, Southlake, TX; Larry (Xiaotian) Christensen, St. Louis, MO; Blake Christensen, Highlands Ranch, CO; Scott (Deb) Christensen, Midland, MI; Holly (Bruce) Jasperson, Provo, UT; two brothers, Kent (Carolyn) Bills and James Bills; two sisters, Patricia Lunt and Ramona (Brian) Wente; a sister-in-law, Mary Ann Bills; six step-children, Susan (Robert) Foster, Linda Izatt, Neil (Cheryl) Izatt, Ted (Tracy) Izatt, Steven (Marianne Silander) Izatt, and Anne Marie Izatt; ten grandchildren, Bradley Christensen, Laura Christensen, Connor Christensen, Kara Christensen, Cailey Christensen, Patrick Christensen, Benjamin Christensen, Esther Christensen, Ty Jasperson, and Brook Jasperson; nineteen step-grandchildren; and thirteen step-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her first husband; her parents; a brother, Richard Bills; a brother-in-law, Steele Lunt; a sister-in-law, Marjorie Bills; and a grandson, Craig Christensen.
Her family expresses thanks to the capable and caring medical staff at Courtyard at Jamestown Enhanced Care of Provo, UT for their long, efficient, and loving care of Virginia, and to the personnel of Alpine Hospice for their valuable and compassionate assistance in the final months of Virginia's life.
Services will be held on Monday, 3 December 2007 at 2:00 pm at the Berg Mortuary, 185 E. Center St., Provo, UT, with President Richard Bagley of the Jamestown Branch of the LDS Church officiating. Friends and fam