Alene Barbara Harding peacefully passed away on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at the Cache Valley Assisted Living Center. Alene was 97 and had enjoyed a full and active life. She was born August 21, 1924, in Rogerson, Idaho. She was the fourth of five children born to John and Elizabeth Heckli. She has a younger surviving sister, Nina Jones, living in Eagle, Idaho.
Alene grew up on a farm in Rogerson, Idaho. She loved all farm animals, especially horses and chickens. She learned to work hard and to always do her best. Rather than move with her family her senior year, she worked at a café/gas station/post office earning room and board and living with a widow. With energy and enthusiasm, she attended school, played on the girls’ basketball team, and held down her job. She was a 4.0 student and valedictorian of her class.
Alene crafted the art of homemaking. Even though she worked full time for many years, she always kept a neat house and yard and raised a big garden and beautiful flowers. She was an exceptional cook, and was known for her pickles, German chocolate cakes, and delicious candies at Christmas. Alene had a quick wit and made everyone feel welcome in their home. She was always happy and upbeat, liked to play jokes, and enjoyed a very special connection with her sisters.
Alene graduated from Hollister High School in 1942 and began a full-time job just two days after graduation. It was while working at the Hazelton State Bank she met William (Bill) Lyman Harding. They were married on December 20, 1943 in Elko, Nevada and later sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on January 6, 1968. They were married for 56 years before Bill’s passing in 2000. Their hobbies included snowmobiling, trail riding, gardening, square dancing, and many other outdoor activities. In later years they moved to Providence, Utah, and it didn’t take her long to be an avid Utah Jazz basketball fan. She knew all the players in the NBA and their coaches and loved having commentaries with her sister Nina after each game. She was a USU Aggie basketball fan as well.
Bill was drafted into World War II in May, 1944, and the newlyweds moved to Kentucky. Bill entered basic training and Alene got a job as secretary to the President of the First Hardin National Bank. When Bill was shipped overseas, Alene returned to Hazelton and was warmly welcomed back to her previous job. Her accuracy with numbers, excellent secretarial skills, and her warm and outgoing disposition assured her a banking career of 28 years. She was also the bookkeeper for the Harding Truck Line for 18 years and Bill’s right-hand man at harvest time, and lastly served as managing agent of L’Herrisson Enterprises.
Alene was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She served in various church capacities, but none gave her greater joy than going to the Logan temple on a daily basis.
Her advice written in her life history to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren is: “Be the best you can, be honest and trustworthy. Hold no animosity against anyone. Be happy, smile at others, and they will smile back at you. It takes fewer muscles to smile than frown. When you work for another person, go the extra mile and you will be rewarded.”
We are grateful she has lived a full life and is reunited once again with loved ones.
Alene is survived by her children Pam (Gary) Pratt, Gale (Judy) Harding, Tammy (Kim) Ellis, and Cammy (Rick) Hoskin, and sister Nina Jones. She is also survived by 18 grandchildren and 60 great-grandchildren.
Alene was preceded in death by her husband William Lyman; her parents, John and Elizabeth Heckli; siblings, Florence Engelgau, Isabelle Marshall, Walter Heckli; and a great-grandson, Finn Barnes.
The family would like to express appreciation to the staff at Cache Valley Assisted Living, Atlas Hospice and to the Spring Creek Branch Presidency and Relief Society Presidency for the kind and loving care shown to mom during her last few months of life.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 am, Thursday, May 26, 2022 at White-Reynolds Funeral Chapel, 2466 Addison Ave E. in Twin Falls, Idaho, with a viewing at 10:30 am. A live stream of the service can be viewed by visiting Alene’s obituary page at www.whitereynoldschapel.com, while there you may leave condolences for the family. Interment will be at Sunset Memorial Park in Twin Falls.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Church of Jesus Christ Humanitarian Fund or local food pantry.