Florence Wilde

Florence Louise Balls Wilde, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother, and friend passed away at her home in Coalville, Utah.

Florence was born in a three room home in Davisville, Idaho, five miles from Soda Springs, Idaho, to Kenneth Grant and Zina Edna Horsley Balls where she was raised until the age of nine when her family moved to Soda Springs.  She graduated from Soda Springs High School and attended Brigham Young University for a year.  Florence attended a business school for three months then began employment for J.C. Penny in Soda Springs as cashier and bookkeeper. In 1941 she moved to Washington D.C. to work for the Personnel Division of the Federal Housing Division, returning home in 1943 to help her father on his farm while her brothers were overseas.  In 1947 she was elected as City Clerk in Soda Springs, serving until 1952 when she again returned to Washington D.C. to work as a secretary to the Secretary-Manager of the National Reclamation Association.

On June 25, 1957 Florence married William Eldred Wilde in the Logan Temple, together they had one daughter.  She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving faithfully in many callings including as a Family History Missionary in Salt Lake City from 1992-1993.

Florence was a woman of great stature.  She was intelligent, independent, with a subtle wit and delightful humor. She was a hard worker with very capable hands that found delight working the earth.  A superb gardener, she thoroughly enjoyed working outdoors finding great satisfaction tending and loving her flower and vegetable gardens.  Florence kept an immaculate yard and home that welcomed family and friends with open arms where they shared her bounty of the earth and loving attention.  She touched many lives in the community and in her family with her kind concern and service to them. She was young at heart and active in life until a few years before her passing.

Florence is survived by her daughters, Ann Louise, and Cleone Wilde Wilkinson, her sister Lucille Balls Bagley (Clarence), and brother K. Gerald Balls (Ruby); 7 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 18 great great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, 6 brothers and sisters, and one daughter.

Funeral Services will be held on the 12th of April at 11:00 a.m. at the Coalville, Utah LDS Stake Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions to be made to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.