Barbara Wanlass February 1, 1929 - September 17, 2024

Barbara Parry “Barb” Wanlass, age 95, originally of Manti, Utah passed away on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at her home in Woodland Hills, Utah, where she had lived for the past thirty-seven years, surrounded by family.

Barb was born February 1, 1929, to parents Bernard Harmon Parry and Ellareave Christine “Ella” Peterson, the third of six children. They grew up on Manti’s Main Street, where their house was a gathering place for family and friends—as Barb’s home would later be throughout her life. Barb enjoyed life in a small town, which included homemade recreation with cardboard boxes and old lumber, swimming in the canal, community dances and fishing at Fish Lake—a favorite camping spot and retreat her entire life. She also became “president” of several secret clubs with her young friends, such as “The Dirty Dozen,” and served in various student organizations at Manti High School, including as assistant manager of the high school annual The Clarion, and as a member of the cheer squad.

Barb was also an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She walked herself to the Manti Temple at age 8 and got herself baptized there, then walked herself home and announced her Church membership; and as a youth she earned her Golden Gleaner award.

Barb graduated from Manti High School in 1947, and then attended Snow College in nearby Ephraim for a year and one-half, commuting back and forth from home on a school bus. She interrupted her second year at Snow to marry her high school sweetheart and longtime neighbor Bert Wanlass on July 15, 1949; and they left for Michigan where he began a long career in the automotive industry. When Bert joined the U.S. Air Force, his assignments took them to Mississippi, Wisconsin, and for two years to Japan. Following his discharge, they resumed life in Michigan, where they finished raising their family. A couple of years after Bert’s retirement, they returned to Utah and settled in Woodland Hills.

Barb continued to serve in the Church throughout her life in many callings, including Primary President, Junior Sunday School Coordinator, three times as Ward Relief Society President, and once as Stake Relief Society President in a geographically large stake that included half of Michigan and parts of Ohio and Canada. She and Bert served together on a couple’s mission to Tacoma, Washington in 1997-98 She also continued her involvement in community, becoming an organizer of Woodland Hills’s “Over the Hills Angels,” a mobile home travel caravan consisting of a group of retired friends in the city; and an organizer of Manti High School class reunions. And even in retirement, Barb continued to learn. She picked up wood-carving and uncovered a tremendous new talent. Her beautiful carvings graced their home, some of the finest of which were her life-sized fish that were so beautifully done that they could be mistaken for real.

Barb considered her crowning work to be in her family. She and Bert were blessed with three children: Martha (“Marty”), now of Leavenworth, Washington; Michael (“Mike”), of Las Vegas; and David (“Dave”), of Pinckney, Michigan; of whom they were deeply proud. They have sixteen grandchildren and thirty-four great-grandchildren. Barb is preceded in death by her dear Bert, who passed away in 2017; and all of her siblings, two of which passed away earlier this year.

But to those who knew Barb, her life was defined most by her love, generosity, and hospitality. Barb and Bert’s home was always a gathering place where family, friends, and strangers in trouble were welcome—to Barb, no one was a stranger. She hosted parties, made her home the hot spot for games (she won more than her share, and you took pity on her only at your own risk!), kept up with friends in other places, and always kept an open door. Even just a little over twenty-four hours before her passing, she hosted her weekly Gospel study group and competed in her favorite card game, Five Crowns.

Barb is survived by her children Marty (husband Brad), Mike (wife June), and Dave (wife Beth), by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and by a lifetime’s worth of friends.

Her funeral service is arranged by the Walker Funeral Home and held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (stake center) in Woodland Hills, Utah.

Address: 555 W 11200 S, Woodland Hills, Utah
Visitation will be held from 9:30 -10:30 am on September 21, 2024
Funeral Services will be September 21, 2024 (Saturday) at 11a.m. MDT