Elnora Staples Mason November 14, 1936 - April 19, 2025

Elnora Staples was born on November 14, 1936, in Inverury, Sevier County, Utah. She was the eleventh of thirteen children born to Elve Staples and Delilah Washburn. Elnora passed away on April 19, 2025, in her home in Elk Ridge, Utah, surrounded by family and with her devoted husband Kenneth by her side. She was 88 years old.

Inverury was a town of 465 people when she was born. The town was later re-named Central and is now Central Valley. Her family farmed like most of the people in her community. Everyone in the family had to help on the farm. Even as a small child she remembered thinning and topping beets and tromping hay. But as one of the younger children she had fewer chores than her older brothers and sisters and she had many fond memories of playing with her younger sister Louisa. They didn’t have many toys but managed to spend hours together building houses, setting up pretend stores, and creating treats of all kinds with the soft mud they made each day. 

Elnora and the youngest siblings, left to right: Elnora, Carol, Ronnie, Gloria,

Louisa, and Kay.

Elnora loved her dad. He was a kind, hardworking man. He had a weak heart and passed away when she was just 4 years old. His passing had a profound impact on her life. She always felt a connection to her dad and believed she would see him again in the next life, which was a comfort to her. Her mother, who never learned to drive and was left with 12 children to care for, maintained the farm as best she could.

Elnora, 13 years old

Elnora was a very imaginative and creative child. From a very young age she loved art. Her older sister, Glenda painted beautiful portraits, and she became interested in doing the same. In high school, Elnora had an art teacher that she loved, and she was able to exhibit some of her paintings in an art show while in school.

Elnora & Kenneth, 1954

When Elnora turned 16 years old, she got her first job at the local Dairy Queen. She had seen her future husband, “Curly Mason” a few times in her teens. A few years later when Kenneth was home from college for the weekend he saw her at the Dairy Queen. He asked her out. They continued to date while Kenneth finished his senior year at BYU. Elnora graduated from South Sevier High School in 1954. She and Kenneth were married in August of 1955 in the Salt Lake Temple. Elnora and Kenneth were married for 69 years 8 months.

Elnora & Kenneth’s wedding day, August 23, 1955

After their honeymoon in Banff National Park in Canada, Kenneth and Elnora moved to Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas where Kenneth was inducted into the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. As Kenneth moved up the ranks in the Air Force, they moved many times living on or near Air Force bases in Texas, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Germany, Kansas, California, Maryland, and Washington state. The family lived in 22 homes in 23 years.

Although Elnora was a small-town girl and had never left the state of Utah before meeting Kenneth, she was excited to see new places and have new adventures.

In Texas she learned to ride a horse and tried pizza for the first time. In Georgia, where Kenneth was assigned to Primary Flight School, she enjoyed the architecture and the natural beauty of the south.  Elnora was expecting their first child around the time Kenneth was due to graduate from flight school and would be sent to his next assignment, so Elnora went to live with Kenneth’s parents in McAllen for the birth. Their first child Kenneth Craig was born there. The family then moved to Big Spring, Texas for a time then to Arizona.

After a short time in Arizona, the family moved to New Mexico where their first three daughters Cynthia, Saundra and Connie were born. While there, Kenneth was suddenly ordered to report to his squadron. He was not allowed to tell Elnora where he was going until a week later when she learned he had been sent to Okinawa. Kenneth was gone for three months.

Next, the family moved to Las Vegas for two months while Kenneth was checked out on the F-105. Then the family headed to their next big adventure in Germany.

The family in Germany 1965. Left to right: Kenneth, Carolyn, Craig, Cindy, Elnora, Saundra, Connie.

When Kenneth was transferred to Bitburg, Germany, Elnora took her very first flight. She flew from Salt Lake City to Frankfurt Germany on her own, very pregnant, and with four children under the age of five. The trip included stops in Chicago and Philadelphia, a drive to New Jersey and finally the trans-Atlantic flight to Frankfurt.

Elnora remembered her years in Germany very fondly. During their time there, Carolyn and Maria were born, and the family had a nanny to help with the six children. Elnora and Kenneth had an active social life with Air Force parties and dinners and social events with friends from church. They also traveled throughout Europe, something that Elnora never dreamed she would do in her life.

In Germany, Elnora started taking painting classes from a wonderful teacher, Herr Ernst Krupp. Although it was a three hour drive each way, she cherished the time she spent learning from such an excellent teacher. Learning to paint had always been a dream of Elnora’s and her time with Herr Krupp began a lifelong journey of painting and teaching art.

Painting was so important to Elnora that she carved out a studio space in each home where she enjoyed painting and taught many, many students over the years. She always felt so much joy and peace with a paintbrush or palette knife in her hand.

Master Copy by Elnora. “Man in the Golden Helmet,” Rembrandt

When the family left Germany, they went to Kansas for four months; long enough to experience two very frightening tornadoes.

Kenneth was next accepted into the Aerospace Research Pilot’s School at Edwards Air Force Base, so the family moved to California. While there, he had six months of test pilot training followed by seven months of astronaut training. In California, their youngest child, Dianne was born. The year was 1969 and the Vietnam war was in full swing. Elnora knew Kenneth could be sent to Vietnam, and after several years working as a test pilot, he received orders to Thailand, where he served in the Vietnam War for one year. During that time, Elnora moved with the children to Richfield Utah, not far from where she grew up. She was very lonely without her husband, but they did their best to stay in touch. Elnora continued painting and teaching and had a solo art show while in Richfield.

When Kenneth came home from the war, the family moved to Maryland, very close to Washington DC where Kenneth was assigned to work at Andrews Air Force Base. After five years, Kenneth received his final transfer from the Air Force to Washington state where he was assigned to represent the United States government at Boeing. The family settled in Redmond, Washington. Elnora was nervous about the dark and rainy weather, but she learned to love the natural beauty. In their new home, she set up a large art studio and taught there for the next 20 years.

After years of nearly constant moving, the family finally put down roots. Elnora made many good friends in the ward. She enjoyed entertaining in her home and organizing cultural events at the church.

The family’s years in Redmond were sometimes challenging and mostly beautiful with graduations, marriages, births, church callings, social gatherings, and many Sunday dinners with a quickly expanding family.

Elnora & Kenneth’s Mission Picture, 1997

In 1997, Elnora and Kenneth were called to lead the West Indes mission for the church. Although Elnora was anxious to go on a mission for three years, she received a strong spiritual confirmation that she would succeed.

In her autobiography, Elnora wrote:

“One day I was making plans to begin packing and was still thinking about all of my concerns, I finally decided to stop fighting the inevitable and said to myself: ‘Okay I will go.’ A short time later I had an experience that would forever change my life. I heard a very quiet voice say to me, ‘It’s okay, you can do it.”

From that moment on she had the courage and faith she needed to go on yet another adventure with her beloved husband. The mission home was in Trinidad, very far from Inverury, indeed.

Elnora and Kenneth in a “rickety” boat in on the Maroni River between French Guyana and Suriname.

Again, Elnora faced the challenge with courage. Three weeks out of every month, she and Kenneth traveled from island to island and to three countries in South America on small planes and rickety boats, visiting missionaries and speaking at zone conferences and sacrament meetings, things that would have normally been very difficult for her. She found joy serving in this way, which is a testament to her enduring faith. She loved the people in the West Indes, the service, and the missionaries. It was one of the most meaningful experiences of her life.

After the mission, Elnora and Kenneth returned home to Redmond where they lived for another year. In 2001 they purchased property in Elk Ridge, Utah and built a beautiful home where they lived together for the next 23 years. They very much enjoyed returning to their home state and spending more time with their siblings and friends of many years.

Elnora at Kenneth’s 90^th Birthday, May 2023

After moving to Elk Ridge, Elnora continued to paint, sew, create, decorate, entertain, serve in the church, and spend time with friends and family. She was greatly loved by all who knew her. Although we are heartbroken by her passing, we are comforted in knowing of the joyous reunion she has had on the other side of the veil.

Elnora is survived by her husband, Kenneth J Mason of Elk Ridge, UT, her children Craig (Melesia) Mason of Edisto Island, SC, Cindy Catlin (Leo Smale) of Monroe, WA, Saundra Mason of Spanish Fork, UT, Connie (Bruce) Loosli of Irvine, CA, Carolyn (Scott) Conover of Bellevue, WA, Maria (Eric) Carino of Sammamish, WA, Dianne Mason (Adam Meislik) of Irvine, CA, 27 grandchildren, 49 great grandchildren, her sister Carol Jensen, and her brother Ronnie Staples.

She was preceded in death by 10 of her siblings, both of her parents, and three grandsons, Stephen Mason, Austin LaBato, and Howard Catlin.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 555 West 11200 South in Salem, Utah. Visitation will be prior from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in Aurora City Cemetery, 399 North 200 West, Aurora, Utah.