Connie Hatfield Child passed away April 3, 2019 in Springville, Utah at the age of 76 after a short but courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. She was born on January 14, 1943 to Raynor Park and Woodrow Hatfield.
Connie grew up on the west side of Springville by the train tracks. She spent her days roaming the west fields doing what she pleased. She loved animals and was known to drag a stray or two home. Connie loved her sisters, Marji, Joyce, and Laurie and bailed her brothers, Denny and Ron, out of jail many times.
Connie attended Springville High School and was a life-long Red Devil. She established lasting friendships from her time at school and the class of 1961 are still some of her closest friends. It was in high school that she met her eternal companion, Bill Child. They were married on December 7th, 1961, in the Salt Lake Temple and celebrated 58 years together. Connie and Bill were blessed with four (choose-your-adjective) children.
She had a strong faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and served in many positions. Being in the primary with children was her favorite. Connie didn’t need an invitation to serve. She had a talent for recognizing the needs of others and lifted up the hands that hung down. Serving others was her calling in life.
During the summer when the kids were young, Connie would pack up her children with Jane Widdison and Joy Wimmer for a weekly trip to the Helaman Halls swimming pool and a stop at Taco Bell and Winchell doughnuts afterwards. She taught us to work hard and play harder. Every weekend, she and Bill also loaded at least six people into the Old Grey, with a few dogs, stopped at Hi Spot and headed up to the Ranch at WanRhodes. She loved spending time with her kids.
Connie spent years overseeing a flagging business out of her house while allowing her grandchildren to run in and out of the back door. She always took the opportunity to be with her grandkids. She never said no to tending her grandchildren, and always attended the hundreds of games and dance recitals that come with being a grandma. Family was the center of Connie’s life, and she worked hard to establish lasting relationships with those she loved. Sunday dinners, carving pumpkins, Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas sleepovers, Sunshine Tournaments and California vacations were the highlights of her life.
Connie had a variety of hobbies. She loved club with her friends and spent 54 years attending monthly. She loved to golf, write poetry, read and do research, garden in her large backyard, make pottery, play the piano (which she learned in her late 60’s), and continued to take in stray animals including Dino and Jackie the Ducks. She was an antique collector, quail enthusiast, and apricot gatherer from her huge apricot tree. If Connie wanted to do something, she would figure out a way to do it! Community involvement was also a large part of her identity. If she was on your political campaign, you knew you would win. She was influential in raising funds for the old Springville pool, helped establish the Springville folk fest, and fought to keep the Red Devil mascot twice.
At the end of her life, Connie wanted Bill by her side, along with their dog Hannah. They would ride downtown to get lunch at Jimmy John’s or McDonald’s and Connie adopted Bill’s affinity for Coca-Cola.
Special thanks to the sweet robin who built a nest outside her kitchen window and gave her hope everyday. Also, special thanks to her nurses, Cami and Missy. Missy, thanks for walking us through the process and making us Read the Book.
She is survived by her husband, Bill Child, two daughters, Jodie (Craig) Allred, Trudy (Greg) Bird, two sons, Matt (Stacey) Child and Willy (Missy) Child, sisters Joyce LeaMaster and Laurie Crandall and brothers Dennis Hatfield and Ronald Hatfield; 16 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents Woodrow and Raynor, her in-laws, Hardy and Norma Child, sister, Marjorie Davis, brother, David Hatfield, and her granddaughter, Bailey Connie Bird.
Funeral services will be Monday, April 8, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS Spring Creek 6th Ward, 860 East 200 North, Springville, Utah. Friends may visit on Sunday, April 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Wheeler Mortuary, 211 East 200 South, Springville, or 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the services on Monday.
Interment, Evergreen Cemetery, Springville, Utah.
Monday, April 8, 2019
9:45 - 10:45 am (Mountain time)
LDS Chapel 860 E. 200 N.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Starts at 11:00 am (Mountain time)
LDS Chapel 860 E. 200 N.
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