Jeanne Allen Burrell, 66, of West Valley City, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, August 4th, at Intermountain Hospital. She was born April 30, 1954, in San Rafael, California as the youngest of three to Marjorie and Howard Allen. In 1956 her family moved to Bellevue, Washington, where she spent most of her childhood. She graduated from Sammamish Highschool in 1972 and worked for a while as a dental assistant to save money for BYU. While attending BYU she met and married her lifelong companion and friend Bradley. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple, Aug. 5, 1974. They began their life together in San Diego where they had Amy, the first of their four amazing children. In 1977, they moved to Kearns, Utah, where they had three more children, Benjamin, Lisa, and Aaron.
Jeanne loved to paint and draw. She worked for an interior design company. Later, she started her own business making dried flower arrangements and macramé trees that were featured in the parade of homes and sold in a gallery in Park City.
Jeanne had a passion for teaching and felt strongly about improving the lives of children. She began teaching as a Chapter One Aide in 1988. In 2001, she returned to school and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Westminster University with a degree in Elementary Education. She went on to teach 2nd and 4th grades at Monroe Elementary in West Valley for over 16 years until her retirement in 2017.
Jeanne had a love of music and was able to perform with the Murry Symphony as a cellist for six seasons. That love of music was passed to her children, who each grew up playing a musical instrument. Amy played the violin through college. Ben played the saxophone through high school. Lisa played the flute. Aaron played the trumpet. Jeanne’s love of music has also passed on to her grandchildren, who play the piano, cello, and violin.
She was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and gave years of service in various callings, including relief society president, shortly before she passed away.
She was an incredible lady, always so kind and thoughtful. She always did the hard things for her family and made day to day sacrifices to make life so wonderful for those she loved. She is one of the most dedicated, determined, and patient people we know.
She was a fun grandma and spent lots of time with her grandchildren playing, teaching, and making the holidays special.
Some of her favorite things to do were going to Silver Lake, the Tulip Festival, Temple Square, Albion Basin, and Gardner Village with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She loved to play and always made time to do fun things with her family. She loved to do family history work, write, read a good book, study the gospel, go to movies, and spend time enjoying life.
Jeanne’s parents, Howard Swain Allen and Marjorie Barrett Allen, preceded her in death. She is survived by her two older brothers, Tom and Dave; her husband, Bradley; her children, Amy, Ben, Lisa, and Aaron; her grandchildren, Gabrielle, Lauren, Miles, Amelia, Ezekiel, Rose, Lake, Gwendolyn, and Callahan.
Funeral services will be held Friday, August 14, 2020 at 11:00am at Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 South 2300 East. Due to social distancing guidelines seating is limited. In addition to the family that will be present there are approximately 40 seats available for friends of the family. To attend the services you must RSVP using the link provided below this obituary. Those attending the services are invited to arrive one hour prior to the services to visit with the family. All those attending we ask that you wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Those not able to attend the services in person are invited to watch an online livestream. To watch the services scroll to the bottom of this webpage on Friday at 11:00am, the funeral recording will remain available for 90 days.
After the service all are welcome to join us at the West Jordan City Cemetery, 7925 S. 1300 W., West Jordan, Utah where Jeanne will be laid to rest.