Genevieve Berry

Genevieve Evans Berry, lovingly known as Gen, passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Spanish Fork, Utah, at the age of 95. While her family grieves her loss, they find great comfort in knowing she is finally reunited with the love of her life, James, who passed away in 2015.

She was born on March 5, 1931, in South Gate, California, to May Barrett and Ivan Alphonzo Evans. The sixth of seven children, Gen’s childhood was defined by a lively, hardworking home. One of her most legendary family stories was surviving the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake as a toddler, sliding across the kitchen in her highchair while the family home was knocked off its foundation.

Her life was one of extraordinary service and self-sacrifice. At age 14, Gen left school to become a full-time nurse for her mother, who was undergoing experimental radiation treatments. This early experience forged in Gen a spirit of resilience and a deep capacity for caretaking that benefited her family for decades.

Gen married James Berry, a family friend, shortly after his return from World War II. They were wed on February 7, 1948, in her childhood home. She wore a pink "After 5" dress that she adored and kept as a cherished memento for the rest of her life.

A fabulous homemaker and mother, Gen supported James as his construction career took him to many areas in California. While raising her children, Gen earned her beauty license at the Anaheim Beauty College and delighted in working in her home, giving perms and highlighting hair for her family and friends. She and James had a memorable time in Hawaii, where James’s company built and grew several communities before they eventually settled in Springville, Utah in 1984. In her later years, after James passed away, she moved to Spanish Fork where she enjoyed the community and care of her assisted living home.

Her creativity knew no bounds. She was a self-taught artist who once traded house cleaning for oil painting lessons. Her home was a gallery of her talents, from her gorgeous oil paintings and Swedish Weave blankets to her famous bread dough dolls. She made Christmas a magical season for her family, hand-crocheting stockings for every child, grandchild, and great-grandchild. On one inspired occasion, she handmade Wise Men costumes for her grandsons' Christmas program; those same costumes are still being worn by her great-grandchildren today.

Gen and James joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were both baptized on March 12, 1953, then later sealed for all time and eternity in the St. George Temple on January 15, 1955. Gen served as a Homemaking Leader in the Relief Society for many years, sharing her skills and teaching others how to utilize food storage. A dedicated historian, Gen researched family genealogy for six decades, only stopping when her eyesight began to fail. In 1990, she and James served in the California San Bernardino Mission, and they continued their devotion as long-time temple workers and completed the temple work for many ancestors.

Gen is survived by her children, Donna Kay Carter (Mike) of Nephi, Utah, and Russell James Berry (Tauna) of Spanish Fork, Utah. She leaves behind a beautiful legacy of 8 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, James; her parents; and her six siblings: Virginia, Joseph, LaVerne, Beverly, David, and Alice Marie Evans.

Services: A viewing will be held Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am at the Spanish Fork Stake Center (870 East Canyon Rd, Spanish Fork, Utah)