Evelyn (Evie) Riggs Westover

     Evelyn (Evie) Riggs was born in Gunnison, Utah August 17, 1925, the sixth of seven children born to William Reeves Riggs Jr. and Muriel Snow. Two of her siblings did not survive their first year, and her much beloved, only surviving brother Reeves died of tuberculosis when Evie was just sixteen years old. She was the youngest in her family, the seventh child having died at birth. 

     Evie’s mother was handicapped by Parkinson’s disease, and her family struggled financially. They lived for years in a creamery, where little Evie loved to roller skate year-round. Evie learned to read before ever attending school and was always an excellent student. A gifted writer, she was known for her many poems and was often called upon to write eulogies for family funerals. In 1945, Evie married Darrell Jay Westover in the Manti Temple. Darrell and Evie were lifelong sweethearts and faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Darrell would later puzzle over God’s miraculous ability to pack so much love into one such tiny woman. Everyone who came near to Evie seemed to love her because of the love she manifested. Even animals were immediately affected by her presence.  

     Evie was the mother of seven children: Barta Vee, Darrell Kirk, Kim Riggs, Gale Kay, Paul Arnon, Layne Dee and Evie Jill—five boys with girls as bookends. Six of the children went with Evie and Darrell on a three-and-a-half-year mission to the Church College of New Zealand. The youngest daughter was adopted after their return to the United States. 

     When Jill reached school age, Evie went back to school herself, returning to college to get a teaching degree to assist in financing her children’s missions. She always enjoyed school and received excellent marks prior to graduating from San Francisco State University. With her bachelor’s degree in history and a California teaching credential, Evie went to work as an elementary school teacher. As always, she taught with love and drew her students to her. She was not averse to hugging a child. She was very much grieved to learn of the suffering of many small children in difficult circumstances. In later years, some of her young students returned to thank her for loving them in a very difficult time of their lives. Her earnings would assist in sending six of her seven children on missions to Austria, Germany, Australia, Germany, Bolivia, and Louisiana/Mississippi. 

     In later years, Evie and Darrell would serve full-time missions to Pennsylvania, South Africa, and Hawaii and offer local missionary service. They made many friends for themselves and for the Lord’s church. They served, they taught, they reactivated, and they loved.  

     Evie was the heart of her home, the joy of her husband and children. Whether it was a gaggle of teenagers getting ready for a dance or grandchildren running in circles, the home that Evie and Darrell established together was always a place of joy and laughter. 

     Evie gave loving service wherever she was. When a stroke seriously limited her mobility, she spent hours every day calling other aged, lonely, or infirm friends. One by one she outlived them. To a very late age she communicated by email and telephone with her cousins and her children. When that was no longer possible, she still enjoyed talking with her family in Zoom meetings.  

     She passed quietly away on May 23, whispering love and gratitude from her lips. She leads the way, with her husband, at the head of a great posterity, 7 children, 34 grandchildren, 91 great grandchildren, and one great great grandson. Together with spouses, Evie and Darrell have a posterity of 166 souls at her passing.

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