Kimberly Ulmer

Kimberly Davis Ulmer 1970-2023

Kim Ulmer passed away encircled by her family on December 29th, 2023, due to metastatic breast cancer. She was born a vivacious and independent redhead on August 8, 1970, in Ogden, Utah to Reid and Vaudis Davis. She relished being raised in the small-town community and culture of Huntsville, Utah with her six siblings. She graduated from Davis High School and the University of Utah with magna cum laude status, which she never let her husband forget. She also earned credits from Ogden High, Weber State, and Utah State Universities. She earned a bachelor of arts in Family and Human Development, which served her well throughout her life as a mother, wife, and friend.

Kim loved group singing, and greatly enjoyed singing with the Mormon Youth, Weber Institute, University of Utah Acapella, and Utah Voices choirs. She cherished the friends she made in those groups.

Kim served an LDS mission in Frankfurt Germany, and gained so much from the experiences, friendships, and spiritual magnification. This fueled her lifelong faith in a loving Heavenly Father, and her devoted service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She met Mat Ulmer in 1993 when both of them were working for Project Turn, an aide program for adults with developmental disabilities. The service they shared there rapidly brought them together. They married on July 20, 1994, in the Salt Lake Temple, and soon grew a family of four wonderful children Madison, Asherah, Brooklyn, and McKinley.

Soon after reaching the goal of home ownership, Kim discovered a lifelong love of horticulture, taking class after class and growing in her knowledge of plants and landscape design. She ran a landscape design business for many years as well as created amazing landscapes from scratch for their five different family homes. She managed all that while raising four wonderful children and supporting her husband in his teaching career.

Kim practiced so well the frugality that comes with a teacher's salary, even if not always displaying patience with the Utah Legislature's 'support' of education providers. Deseret Industries and other thrift stores became favorites, and she passed the thrill of finding frugal treasures on to her children, teaching them values beyond materialism.

As a mother, Kim worried over, nurtured, and was completely devoted to her children.

In 2009, soon after the birth of her last child, Kim discovered a lump in her breast. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and still ran a half-marathon at the end of her treatment. She felt so loved and uplifted by family, friends, neighbors, and cancer support groups who helped during this stressful time. Kim found and supported an important piece for her kids' well-being during this time: Camp Kesem. From there the family was able to move on and grow from this experience, and she remained cancer-free until 2017. At this time the cancer returned, but by the time it was discovered, it had moved to a lymph node in her neck and into her liver. This meant she had to live with a more audible timer on her life, but she took on treatment bravely and resolutely, with plenty of emotion.

Cancer colored the remaining years of her life, yet she continued through it raising her children, partnering with her husband, and getting therapy from her plants and yard. Her written blog through these years has been a treasure of inspiration and realism to so many of her family, friends, and fellow cancer patients, and will be a beloved memory for her husband and kids, as well as the other legacy creations she was so persistent at making through these past 6 years of cancer. She is survived by her husband Mat, her four children: Madison Blume (daughter-in-law Amy), Asherah, Brooklyn and McKinley, and her five wonderful siblings.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Elizabeth Prystas and Dr. Saundra Buys and their staff at the Huntsman Cancer Institute for their amazing dedication and care to Kim along her cancer journey. Also so much appreciation to the caring and loving Annie Nebecker, LCSW at Huntsman, who made such a difference for her. We so appreciate Josh, Hailey, and Tiffany from Ovation Hospice for stepping in so quickly when Kim's body decided enough was enough. The family is also grateful to Lisa Gauchay, LCSW, for helping to arrange with Huntsman Institute to fulfill Kim's wishes to have her organs donated to further cancer research.

Mat and their children will lay Kim's ashes to rest in the Bountiful City Cemetery and will welcome messages and/or favorite memories, photos, etc., to the family sent through McDougalfuneralhomes.com, or emailed directly to a family friend who is completing for us, Lucinda Wade (luwade101@gmail.com)

Although she knew it likely wasn't realistic, Kim always desired a party prior to her passing to visit, chat, and eat with all her friends and family a final time. In that spirit, the family wishes to invite friends and family to an Open House to both celebrate and memorialize Kim, with separate areas set up for more somber reflection, and for chatting and appreciation. The family hopes to greet our family, friends, and wonderful neighbors to cry, laugh, and chat together. As one of Kim's favorite party elements was sampling from random and diverse potluck offerings, we invite attendees to bring a small dish of anything they would like to share in disposable containers to the Open House.

The gathering is to be held January 13, 2024 at the Bountiful Orchard Stake Center, 3599 Orchard Drive in Bountiful (parking in the rear) from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Although Kim was a great lover of flowers, she wasn’t a great fan of funeral ones, and in that spirit the family would instead appreciate donations to the Camp Kesem Utah Valley chapter, through this link: https://donate.kesem.org/team/526375