Etta Doreen McQuade

Etta Doreen Gulan Gill Barner Thompson McQuade traveled from this life to the next on Christmas morning at 8:00 a.m. At 91 years of age, she passed away peacefully with her daughter Carrie at her side in her assisted living facility in South Jordan, Utah.

Etta lived an incredible life filled with many trials and amazing triumphs. She was born on Friday, April 13, 1934, in a home for unwed mothers called the Gilroy's Nursing Home in Seattle, Washington, to Rosaline Mathilda Wenzel. Two weeks later, Etta was purchased from this "home" for $40 by the woman she would know as her mother, Hope Alliene Vaughan. (As a sidenote, Gilroy's Nursing Home was charged as a "Baby Brokerage" in 1949.) In 1952, at the age of eighteen, she was legally adopted by Hope and her fourth husband, Charles Lakeman Gill. Etta later learned through DNA matching that her birth father was a man named Otto Lee Dilley.

Etta grew up in Enumclaw and Everson, Washington, with her mother, Hope, Hope's third husband, Henry Gulan, and her younger sister and brother, Marvell and Karl, until Henry died of a heart attack in June of 1948. Shortly after, Hope married Charles Gill, and the family adopted the final sibling, Daniel Lakeman Gill. From then on, Etta and her family lived in Enumclaw, where Etta met her first husband, Robert (Bob) Lee Barner at Enumclaw High School. The two were married on July 8, 1953, shortly after her graduation.

Bob and Etta were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on September 25, 1953, and were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in March of 1954. They were blessed with two children, Randie Leigh and Scott Gill. Bob tragically died at the age of 24, on November 9, 1957, and Etta was left a widow at 23 with a two-year-old daughter and a 10-day-old son. With the help of Bob's parents, Ted and Lucille Barner, Etta was able to go to college, first at Washington State University and then at Brigham Young University.

It was at BYU that Etta met and married another BYU student, John Harmon Thompson, when they were part of BYU's performing group, "Curtain Time USA" directed by John's sister, Janie Thompson. This began Etta's thirst for travel and performing dramatic readings as she toured with the group throughout Asia in 1960. The couple married on March 11, 1961, in the Los Angeles Temple, and to them were born Carrie Lynne, Shelley Jo, Tawney Beth, John Hugh, and Wade Charles. Sadly, on August 16, 1977, their son, John Hugh, died at the age of 10.

Most of their married life was spent in Rexburg, Idaho, where John was a professor at Ricks College, now known as BYU-Idaho, and Etta taught English at Sugar-Salem High School, among other things, after she finished her degree at age 43. When John retired in 1993, they sold their "white farmhouse with the red gabled roof" to move to Pleasant Grove, Utah. They enjoyed living close to John's siblings, BYU, and a few of their children and grandchildren, but on August 11, 1996, John died suddenly from a heart attack. Etta was again a widow at age 62.

John and Etta had hoped to serve a mission for the LDS church together, and so in true Etta fashion, she fulfilled this goal. She said that one of her greatest joys was serving a humanitarian mission to Thailand as an English teacher from February 1999 to May 2000.

While on this mission, she regularly emailed a family friend, Frank Edward McQuade, and they became engaged. They were married on May 9, 2000, in the Mount Timpanogos Temple, and enjoyed 10 years of marriage before he died on January 31, 2010, when Etta was 76. She was a widow again for the third and final time. Even after Frank's death, she continued to be a caring stepmom and grandmother to Frank's four children, his many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; she loved them all.

Throughout Etta's life, she valued human and family connection, as seen through her time spent thrifting and dedicating books to anyone who would accept them, performing spoken word with her husband John, and later, the Cameo Club, leading and participating in multiple book clubs, countless hours spent doing genealogy, and traveling as much as she was able to, including church history and temple tours, and time spent in 85 countries and 49 of the 50 states. Unfortunately, she never did make it to Vermont.

She nurtured relationships throughout her life through camping, card games, family dinners, making individual lap quilts for each family member, and yearly newsletters that she sent with an update of her travels, the life events of her children, stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, plus her testimony of her Savior, all accompanied by a crisp $2 bill.

When her health declined, and she could no longer speak as she once could, she maintained the ability to play cards-Skipbo and Five Crowns being her favorites--up until right before her passing. Her family will greatly miss these treasured moments with her, as well as the playful banter about whether she cheated in cards, who was her favorite grandchild, or if BYU would win or not. We imagine her heavenly reunion with her family and friends was sweet, and we are sure that she was quick to say, "Well, shall we play a game?"

Yet above all, was Etta's unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. She often said that "The Lord is my Shepherd" was the theme of her life, and the words of Psalms 23 brought great comfort and hope to her during her darkest times, as well as the strength she received from prayer. She wrote, "I am so blessed, and even with the difficulties in my life, I give my Heavenly Father all the credit for my many blessings and thank Him with all my heart for everything I have and have been able to do, and most especially for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have had a wonderful life."

Etta is survived by her daughters, Randie Krogel (Greg), Carrie Johnson, Shelley Ovard (David), and Tawney Droubay; and her sons, Scott Barner (Sharlene), and Wade Thompson (Cherie), 21 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. As well, she is survived by Frank's four children, Joseph, Beverly, Margo, and Annette, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her beloved sister, Marvell Gulan Scott, and cherished brother, Daniel Gill, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

We, her family, are so thankful for Etta's life, all she accomplished, all she taught us, and all the love she gave us. We are also extremely grateful for the loving care she was given by the many dedicated people at Sagewood at Daybreak.

Friends may call on Thursday evening, January 15, 2026, in the Family Room at Sagewood at Daybreak,11289 S. Oakmond Rd, South Jordan, UT, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Funeral services will be on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Olpin Family Mortuary, 494 South 300 East, Pleasant Grove, Utah.

A live stream of the funeral will be shown on the Olpin Family Mortuary website. The interment will be in the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest between her husbands, John and Frank, and near her son, John Hugh.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donating to the Janie Thompson Endowed Music Scholarship by calling the BYU Philanthropies @ 801-356-5300 and ask for the Finance Office.

Another way to donate is to follow these steps: Go to: donate.churchofjesuschrist.org; Scroll down to 'Search Other Funds'; Enter 'Janie Thompson' in the Search, Add 'Janie Thompson Endowed Music Scholarship – BYU', Follow directions to complete your donation online.