Our loving Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother, Anna Marie Talbot Mellor, passed away on Monday, August 15, 2022, in her home in Lake Shore, Utah. She was born on November 20, 1935, in Paragonah, Utah, to James Orson Talbot and Annie Gale Talbot.
Anna grew up in Paragonah and had four older siblings and four younger siblings. Mom was expected to work in her family home, bottle fruit and vegetables, and take care of her younger siblings.
She was sealed to Arnold H. Mellor on September 14, 1957, in the Utah St. George Temple. Together they raised five children, Brad, Michael, Marie, Jim, and Richard.
As an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mom’s testimony never wavered. She loved her Savior, Jesus Christ, and was faithful in all her endeavors. She served in many church callings over the years. Anna served as a temple ordinance worker in the Provo Temple for many years and then served in the Payson Temple. She loved the temple and the people she was able to serve over the years. She was greatly missed when her health did not allow her to continue serving there.
Anna and Arnold served a full-time proselyting mission in the Minneapolis, Minnesota Mission. There they served the people of Wilmar, Minnesota, with love and compassion. Mom was often taking young women to church activities and making sure they knew they were loved. They also served three missions in the Martin’s Cove Visitor Center, Wyoming. Anna loved Martin’s Cove. She felt connected to her ancestors who had traveled to Utah in the Martin Handcart Company at this sacred location. She also served at the Provo MTC as a shift leader for English as a second language.
Anna was an active member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. She served as the Camp Lake Shore Captain from 2012- 2016 and Vice Captain for over six years. She was proud of her pioneer heritage, and it was very important for her to support this organization.
Anna attended schools in Paragonah and Parowan, Utah, and college in Cedar City, Utah. This is where she met the loved of her life, Arnold.
She worked as a secretary for U.S. Steel. She moved with Arnold to San Antonio, Texas, then to Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Big Springs, Texas, Wichita, Kansas, and Lincoln, Nebraska, while he served as a pilot in the United States Airforce. They returned to Utah to raise their family and lived in Provo, American Fork, and Lake Shore. Anna was a homemaker for many years when her children were young. When she returned to the workforce, she worked as a legal secretary in Spanish Fork for many years and then as a postal worker for the U.S. Postal Service in Provo, Utah. She retired from the Postal Service in 2000.
Anna paid particular attention to the details of her loved ones’ lives. She knew everything about her children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren’s lives. She always made everyone feel welcome in her home. Lake Shore was the stopping point for many weary travelers on their way to another destination. Mom would welcome you in for a meal and an overnight stay.
She is survived by her husband, Arnold H. Mellor, and her children, Brad (Tara) Mellor, Mike (Tiffany) Mellor, Marie (Brady) Prothero, Jim Mellor, and Richard Mellor. She is also survived by her siblings, Ardell (Julie) Talbot, Neil (Barbara) Talbot, and Judy (Carl) Henrie. She has 13 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Orson and Annie Talbot, her sister Beth Fairbanks, and her brothers, Brent, Gordon, Bob, Jim, and her twin granddaughters, Laurel and Stephanie Mellor.
Funeral Services will be held at the Lake Shore Chapel on Saturday, August 20, 2022, at 11:00 am. There will be a viewing on Friday 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Walker Mortuary in Spanish Fork, Utah, and on Saturday morning from 9:30 am to 10:30 am at the Lake Shore Church Relief Society room.
1 Condolence for Anna Marie Mellor
Condolence(1)
Colin Talbot says
August 20, 2022 at 5:00 pmI have such fond memories of the welcome we received from Anna and Arnold every time we would come out to visit for family vacations. There was always room to shoehorn us in for a night or two and wonderful hospitality for our family. This was true both when I was growing up and now that I have my own family.
Growing up in the suburbs of DC, my world seemed totally different than life in Lake Shore, yet every time I came to visit I was absolutely amazed at how much Anna knew about my life and everything going on with my family. She truly cared about me the same as if I had grown up down the street. Distance and difference of situation meant nothing next to the bonds of a loving family I knew I was a part of, no matter how different I was. Anna and Arnold clearly taught their sons the same unconditional family love, as they would always rope me into whatever fun thing they had going on and ignore my East Coast awkwardness.
I treasure the memories of sitting in their living room as my father and his sister caught up on news and reminisced about old times. It gave me a window into his youth and where his character came from. My life is enriched for having been blessed with such a wonderful aunt and ungle. She will be missed, but I don’t grudge her the great sit-down she’s going to have with my dad soon. They came from a remarkable brimming with love for everybody around them.
Families are forever.
All the best and all my love to the Mellor family,
Colin Talbot