Frankie LaRee Engebretsen Fitts Obituary (1925 - 2015)

Frankie LaRee Engebretsen Fitts passed away on March 13th 2015. A great and noble lady left this world, to be with her earthy father, who she never got to know, her dear mother, and many dear family and friends who are waiting with open arms, to greet her on the other side of heaven. She was born in Butlerville, Utah on September 30, 1925. She was born to Frank and Nellie Larsen Engebretsen. She lost her father when she was only five weeks old. One of her childhood homes was two root beer stands put together on a rock foundation and she got tired of everyone asking them if they had root beer for sale. She eventually painted over the writing herself standing on a chair when she was 9. She loved playing March of the Wee Folk and Waltz of the Flowers, on the piano. She performed on KDYL radio at Liberty Park and dedicated this to her sister, Wanda, who had her tonsils out early that morning. She and Wanda loved putting on shows for the neighborhood, especially on Halloween, when they dressed up as a scare crow and ghost. She loved going with Wanda to the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake, as part of the Popeye Club to see movies. Only 10 cents for the movie. She was a neighbor and friend of Neil Maxwell and she loved telling about how he showed her his prize pigs, playing tennis together, and going to school together. She loved school and graduated from Granite High School. She and Wanda loved going to the school reunions until just a few years ago. She had a beautiful alto voice and could sing any harmony. She loved to sing no matter what she was doing and would find a song to go along with just about anything. She wrote beautiful poetry throughout her life. Up until she was near the end, she was still writing poetry, even though it might physically take her many hours to write down her thoughts. She attended the nursing program at the University of Utah before being called to serve a mission in Canada. In her own words, she wrote, "The first time I saw Franklin Earl Fitts, was in my missionary companions photo album, as we sat on the porch on her suit cases. He was dressed in zoot suit clothes, with a watch chain hanging. I said, who is that goofy elder." Of course, they would eventually be married in the Salt Lake Temple. They would each remain missionaries throughout their life. She was a missionary many times over, and sent many missionaries, besides her own children. Both she and Franklin graduated from BYU and each served as teachers for over 30 years. She was a great teacher to thousands of third, second, first graders, and most of all the hello kitty kindergarten. She was an amazing Mom and Grandmother. She loved cooking things to perfection. She made the most perfect loaves of bread, lemon meringue pie, rice pudding (two batches, one with and one without raisins), rolls, apple dumplings, and pumpkin cookies by the tens of thousands. She knew how to make work fun and knew children so well. She loved to be hands on and involved with all of the play, the imagination, the fun and games. She had a fun and competitive spirit. She was an expert at many board and card games. Right to the end, no one could come close at Chinese Checkers or Flinch. Even at games that were supposed to be based on luck like Yahtzee, she was almost always the winner. If only she had been a gambler? She and Franklin helped raise 5 children, 16 grandchildren, and 11 great grand children. One of her greatest talents was watching over her little children at home, school, or in primary, and seeing their god given talents and encouraging them to develop the talents. She only saw the best in everyone. She loved music, dancing and all of the arts. She was a co-writer for two books on how to incorporate creative dance in elementary education with Virginia Tanner. She made it possible to start the Odyssey Dance Theatre. Frankie and Franklin were able to serve a couples mission together in England following their retirement. They loved serving together and continued to support missionary work any way they could, as they did throughout their life. Above all, she had amazing faith in God and his Son Jesus Christ, and prayer was her life. She was a woman of true consecration to serve God, Christ, and his sheep. Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. in the Grove Creek Tenth Ward Chapel, 475 North 700 East, Pleasant Grove. Family and friends may attend a viewing Friday evening from 6 - 8 p.m. at Olpin Family Mortuary, 494 South 300 East, Pleasant Grove and at the church on Saturday from 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. Interment will be in the Holladay Memorial Park Cemetery,4900 Memory Ln, Holladay, Utah. Condolences may be sent to the family and further information obtained at www.olpinmortuary.com.