Wanda Dee Murray Hathaway, age 88 passed away on Friday, December 8, 2023. Wanda Dee was born July 29, 1935, in Springville Utah to her parents Fred Lavell Murray and Barbara Denny Murray. Wanda Dee joins her husband Silvan James Hathaway, daughter Laurie Ann Farley, granddaughter Angie and many other loved ones that welcome her home with open arms. She leaves behind her brother; Denny (Suzy) Murray and her five children; Jim (Doris) Fullmer of Orem, Trudy (Jay) Thoman of Alpine, Judy (Mark) Knickerbocker of Lindon, Sandee Hathaway of St. George, and Jason (Charisse) Hathaway of Spanish Fork, and 18 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
Wanda Dee grew up in Mapleton, Utah, across the street from the White Church, where she was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her Mom was in charge and cared for the church throughout her life. Her and her brother Denny would get into mischief often. She carved her name into the brick of her home and it is still there to this day.
She married her love, Sil Hathaway, on September 5, 1960 in Evanston Wyoming. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple. They honeymooned in Jackson Hole Wyoming, which quickly became a traditional family vacation spot.
She and Sil made one amazing team, running several very successful and still talked about restaurants throughout the state of Utah. They met at By’s Grotto on highway 89 in Provo Utah where she was the waitress and he was the cook. After falling in love, they took out a five-hundred dollar loan from Dee’s father and bought By’s Grotto, changing the name to Sil’s Seafood Grotto. They later moved the restaurant into Provo by the BYU stadium creating Sil’s Seafood Inn and then relocated and remodeled the church on Fifth West and First North in Provo creating Sil’s Ivy Tower, which was the largest restaurant in Utah at the time. Wanda Dee was very business oriented and one of the hardest workers you will ever know. She used her bookkeeping degree from Utah Technical College and was the bookkeeper, manager and hostess with the mostest in the restaurants, as well as employing multiple people she would still consider family to this day.
She loved traveling. They were season ticket holders for BYU Football and attended every Holiday Bowl in San Diego California. She was a BYU football sponsor of the Cougar Club for many years. She and Sil owned boats, snowmobile’s, horses, motorcycles and had many outdoor adventures. They also traveled on several cross country excursions. Sil and Wanda sponsored a fast pitch softball team. The team was named Sil’s Seafood. They played across the country winning the USA championship in New York State. Sil and Wanda personally drove the team to New York in their own Winnebago.
Wanda Dee had a great love for Antiques. She loved going to Antique shows, buying, selling, and most of all decorating with the Antiques. She went to school and received her Interior Decorating degree while busy running restaurants and a household. Her talent, knowledge and passion for home design showed in her displays throughout the restaurants and her home. Her house décor would change often and was impeccable down to the smallest detail.
Her dad was the chief engineer of the Zion National Park Tunnel. He lived in the Brigham Young House in St. George Utah while he was on assignment. He would horse and buggy up to the Zion tunnel everyday so he could instruct the workers where to blast to make the tunnel. This is where Wanda gained her love for the desert in St. George Utah. She had an uncle that was a Silver Miner in Park City, Utah. Every summer as a kid she would go visit and stay the summer with him and her cousins. These memories in Park City always held a special place in her heart and we as a family would visit often for winter skiing and summer outdoor activities.
The last few years she has loved living in St. George, Utah with her daughter Sandee Hathaway and her daughters Mckenzie and Marinda. She would spend her days taking care of her beloved dog Charlie, reading and was always absorbing new knowledge, and taking walks. She loved her daily walks with Charlie and often her friend Sylvia. No matter the circumstances, would not miss these walks. She also really enjoyed her granddaughter McKenzie’s recent service mission; she served in her home town of St. George making it possible for Grandma Dee to be her “unofficial” mission companion. She loved visiting the temple and working on the family genealogy with McKenzie. We are still unsure which one loved the mission more.
Family and the church were always important to her. She was a very kind, caring, and loved to serve others. She would want her legacy to be known for her kindness, honesty, service, gratitude and hard work. She lived her life to the fullest. She was the rock of the Hathaway Family. Sil thought he was the boss, but everyone knew who the real boss was. Wanda Dee was a force to be reckoned with and will be dearly missed.
Services will be held Friday, December 15, 2023, at 11:00 am at the white church at 31 West Maple Street, Mapleton, Utah 84664
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