Elizabeth Mayes Jacobson Bennett July 6, 1933 - January 23, 2022

Elizabeth Mayes Jacobson Bennett, 88, passed away January 23 at her home in Spanish Fork, Utah surrounded by loved ones who supported and cared for her.

She was born July 6, 1933, in Worcester, Massachusetts (MA) to John Franklin Jacobson and Isabelle Elizabeth Louise Phipps of Upton MA.  The Jacobson’s were a farming family and had six children, with Elizabeth being the only daughter.  She attended schools in MA and was accepted to nursing school with a full scholarship.

She married Verne Heselton, son of Clifford and Mildred Heselton of Upton MA on February 3, 1952, and they later divorced in 1972. She then married Marlow Devey Bennett of Alpine UT on February 4, 1995; they were sealed in the Mount Timpanogos temple on July 14, 2007.

Most of the Jacobson family members were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in 1951 while Elizabeth was baptized in 1952 as she was out of town attending nursing school at Worcester Memorial hospital. The Heselton side of the family was also baptized about the same time including her then husband Verne.   The families were baptized by J. Thomas Greene, a missionary serving the Boston area.  She remained lifelong friends with Judge Greene.

Once she married Verne, she continued living in Upton among many cherished relatives and friends.  She and Verne soon started building a family with their first daughter born in 1952 followed by three more children, each one year apart.   As their family expanded, and two more daughters were born, they needed a larger home. Together, they built a home on five acres of land in Upton while raising their six children, four daughters and two sons. Their home was adjacent to the Heselton’s property, and the proximity was a delight.  They then moved to Grafton MA where they welcomed their seventh child, a daughter. Elizabeth was a busy mother with a new baby, but ensured her older children were good students, participated in lessons, learned homemaking skills, and that they attended church services during the week and on Sunday at the Worcester branch.  While living in Grafton she enjoyed telling the story about Mr. Tupper, who founded Tupperware in that small town.  She and Verne were both avid antique collectors and had several antiques throughout their colonial Grafton home. She liked the planning, restoring, and decorating of her MA homes.

Elizabeth worked to support her husband Verne through his schooling along with managing her family.  She baked and decorated cakes and offered cake decorating classes. She was locally ‘famous’ for her doll cakes. She worked as a portrait colorist and taught art classes to children and adults.  She drew much pleasure from these experiences. In 1961 she won first place for her oil painting of a clipper ship in an art contest in the Blackstone Valley Art Association in MA.  She also supported the local schools by working as a substitute teacher. She sold Avon for several years. Elizabeth was known for her Boston baked beans, and everyone was always filled with excitement when she brought out her bean pot because they knew the most delicious baked beans were coming.

After the divorce, Elizabeth moved to Utah (UT) in 1972 along with five of her young children ranging in ages from two to seventeen years old.   The two oldest daughters did not move to UT as they were attending college in Idaho and MA. Upon her arrival to UT, she kept selling Avon products, and was a sales representative for Rainbow brand vacuum cleaners. She baked and decorated cakes professionally and made several for the Osmond family. Many of her older grandchildren affectionately referred to her as Grandma Cake.

She lived in several UT towns such as Ogden, Murray, Millcreek, Cottonwood Heights, Orem, Hurricane and Spanish Fork and briefly moved back to MA to care for her elderly parents. She made friends wherever she lived.   She met her second husband Marlow while working in Hurricane UT as the manager of a real estate property development venture. They lived at the Hurricane development property and later sold their Hurricane park-home and built their home in Spanish Fork where they lived for many years until her passing.

Elizabeth had a passion for travel and visited many places through-out the world and enjoyed Germany, Holland, and the United Kingdom.  She had an ‘across the pond’ pen-pal since first-grade and she went to England and spent time with her (Kathleen) during her later years. She had a grand time going on cruises with Marlow.  Her favorite places to vacation were back to her hometown in MA and Cape Cod. Eating fried clams, visiting lighthouses and the swimming in the Atlantic Ocean were part of her cherished MA memories.

Elizabeth worked as a Utah realtor for 36 years. Her most challenging yet enjoyable real estate project was working on the development located at Jeremy Ranch UT.  Elizabeth had many entertaining stories about that experience. She assisted some of her children in purchasing their homes and did everything she could do to ensure her children had the best home for the price.

Elizabeth was deeply patriotic; attended many parades and New England history was a favorite pastime as many of her ancestors and the ancestors of the Heselton family settled in the area during the 1600s.  She would love telling the story about an ancestor, William Bradford, an early governor of the Plymouth Colony in MA.  He traveled on the Mayflower surviving many challenges such as sunken boats, being caught in a deer trap, overcoming extreme illness among other challenges that are brought forth because of settling a new colony in the 1600s. She conveyed that she carried her ancestors’ strength, wisdom and grit which was a contributor to the strength and will she had possessed throughout her lifetime.

She decorated her home for each holiday and held holiday get togethers for the families and grandchildren.   She enjoyed fashion, and would choose clothing to suit the occasion, often wearing red, white and blue clothing on her birthday since it was so close to Independence Day.  She loved her large family and hearing about their lives was important to her. One of her hobbies later in life was to use web-based platforms to create scrapbooks of her family capturing the many experiences and adventures that life offers.  She had a talkative outgoing spirit and a special ability to talk for hours with friends and family.  She loved to tell stories to anyone who had a listening ear; and she had many to share. She never lost her Bostonian accent, so she was entertaining to listen to.  In the days before cell phones, she would have won an award for having the longest telephone cord which allowed her to walk between rooms, do chores, and talk on the phone for hours.

She was a devoted and faithful member of the LDS church and first attended the Worcester MA branch. She was honored to have assisted the LDS youth in MA where she helped grow the members in that area.  She served in the LDS Temple and supported baptisms while in UT.  During 2003 – 2004, she and Marlow went on a senior mission to West Virginia. She had a strong testimony and love for the LDS church.

In the last year of her life, she was faced with considerable health challenges, including contracting covid-19 in February 2021.  She had some after-effects from covid-19 combined with other chronic issues, primarily congestive heart failure.  Her five daughters provided deep love and support and worked diligently together so she could remain in her home.  Home is where she wanted to be and nowhere else and her daughters ensured her wish was granted.  She had the loving care of daily and live-in caregivers who appreciated Elizabeth’s zest for life and the many conversations including advice they received. Her hairdresser would regularly come to her home and kept Elizabeth’s hair colored and styled and provided these services without charge.  She welcomed all people to her home with open arms.

During the past year, her husband Marlow was cared for by his children, as Marlow and Elizabeth were no longer able to care for each other as they had in years past. During these past months, they had fun visits together even with both having elderly health issues. Marlow would always visit Elizabeth during her frequent hospital stays. Marlow’s family was helpful and kind, along with her five daughters, supporting Elizabeth and Marlow’s ongoing visits as neither of them could drive their car and at all times had to rely on the support and services of others. Her ward members were very supportive and helpful fulfilling her needs and provided blessings upon blessings.  Even with her challenging health, she was able to renew her real estate license during her 88^th year keeping it in an active status. Upon the day of her death, the Valentine’s decorations had already been set out and ready to be placed throughout her home. This was a representation of her adorned and abundant love for her family and wholehearted faith toward Heavenly Father.

Elizabeth is survived by five dear daughters and their spouses: Deborah Heselton, Kristine Heselton-Pahlke, Beth Ericksen, Ruth Jeppson and Ashley Johnson; her loving husband, Marlow Devey Bennett; two brothers and their spouses, Martin and David Jacobson; 28 lovely grandchildren who live throughout the USA and Canada; and 48 darling great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her dear sons Allan and Darryl Heselton; loving parents, John and Isabelle Phipps Jacobson; brothers, John, Paul and James Jacobson; ex-husband, Verne Heselton; and sweet and young grandsons, Charles Webster and David Foster.

Family and friends may attend a viewing on Friday, February 4, at 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The following day, Saturday, February 5 there will be a second viewing at 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. The funeral service is at 1:00 p.m. All services will be held at the Spanish Fork 2nd Ward chapel located 541 West Center St. Spanish Fork, UT.  Interment will be at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 S. State St, Provo. Flowers may be sent to Walker Mortuary of Spanish Fork.

For those unable to attend the services in person, a livestream link will be available. Please return to this obituary shortly before the services on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 1 o’clock p.m. and click this link to view: https://youtu.be/IXKR2K12mVI