Morris Bill Told Obituary (1921 - 2014)

Morris Bill Told was born on the family farm in Pleasant Grove, Utah as the second child and first son of Hobart Joseph and Leone Nelson Told. Tragedy would strike the young family early when Hobart was killed in a freak industrial accident at the sugar factory in Lehi. Leone would face this hardship with courage and with the help of her parents, John and Adeline Nelson, would provide for Bill and his sister Elizabeth (Mott) as an elementary school teacher in Pleasant Grove for nearly her entire adult life. Never really having known his father, Bill took over many of the responsibilities of the family and learned from his mother and grandparents those skills that would make him a great teacher later in life. His mother instilled within him a love of education and he would attend BYU where he would not only begin his education, but would begin a friendship with Moya Thomas of Salt Lake City that would lead to marriage. War would interrupt their plans and Bill would serve in the Navy in San Diego, California as a Company Commander training sailors for the war in the Pacific. At the end of the war he and Moya would take their first son Tommy to Logan, Utah where the newly passed G.I. Bill would allow him to become a vocational agriculture teacher. Here at Utah State their second son Morris was added to the family. They would move to Wayne County, Utah where Bill began teaching at Bicknell High School and their third son John would join the family. Their life in southern Utah was a wonderful experience and the family would gain many cherished friends. From southern Utah the family would move to southern Wyoming where Bill would head the agriculture program at Limon High School. That experience would endear the Told family to Wyoming life, but the cold winters and the ever-present winds would drive them back to Orem, Utah and the Homestead in Pleasant Grove. Here their first daughter Jenefer would be added and finally 19 years after they had begun their family their last son, David, would be born. Bill was beloved by his family and the many friends and neighbors that bordered his farm. He would take pride in his sheep and horses and in the bounty of corn, potatoes, squash, and fruit that was produced on the land his forbearers had worked so hard to claim from the desert. Bill had a quick wit and a love of history and the combination would hold many a visitor and grandchild captive as he told of the rich history of the valley and his family who helped to develop it. Moya would leave the family in 1997, finally succumbing to rheumatic heart disease she acquired following the birth of her first child, but Bill would continue on to keeping the family unit going and welcoming each new addition into the Told Clan. Bill is preceded in death by his father Hobart Told; mother, Leone Nelson Told; sister, Elizabeth Mott; wife, Moya Thomas Told; son, John Edward Told; and grandson, Robert Bruce Told. The family wishes to have friends join them at a celebration of his life on Friday, November 28, 2014 at 11 am in the LDS chapel built on the site of the family homestead, 332 East 500 North, in Pleasant Grove. A viewing will precede the celebration at 10am. Family and friends may also attend a viewing in Salt Lake City Wednesday evening, November 26th from 6-8 p.m., in the LDS chapel located at 1111 East Charlton Avenue. Interment will be in the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery. Military honors conducted by American Legion Post 72. Condolences may be sent to the family and further information obtained at www.olpinmortuary.com.