Annette Woolley

Our loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother Annette Kathryn Benson Woolley passed away suddenly and unexpectedly October 27, 2022 in her home in Provo, Utah. She will be missed dearly.

Annette was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Glenn Ray and Virginia Esperson Benson on June 3, 1941. She was the 3rd of seven children (5 sons and 2 daughters). It took her parents a few months to come up with her name and in the meantime they called her "Cookie." This nickname stuck and was how she was known to much of her family and friends throughout her life. She grew up on a mink farm in West Jordan where she learned the virtue of hard work and the love of gardening.

Annette attended the University of Utah where she met Bruce Woolley at the Institute of Religion. They dated for six months before Bruce left to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Their love endured and they were sealed in the Logan Utah Temple on December 28, 1962. This December they will have been married for 60 years, and oh how they love each other. She and Bruce both earned degrees in Pharmacy and this connection created a harmony of love and understanding that is unique in their marriage. Their commitment to education has been instilled in their children and grandchildren. Each of their children graduated from college, including 3 advanced degrees.

In 1970 they moved to Southern California, with their three small children, where Bruce pursued a doctoral degree in Pharmacology. After having their fourth child, they agreed it was time to return to Utah. Bruce accepted a job at Brigham Young University and they moved to Provo. It made her very happy to once again be living close to her parents and siblings.

She cherished spending time with her loved ones and she created a home where her posterity wanted to be. It was a weekly occurrence for everyone to gather at her and Bruce's home for Sunday dinner. She loves watching her family mature and grow. Her children and grandchildren adore her and she always had something fun planned for them. She created many traditions including "Grandma Camp," an annual Easter egg hunt with 1,000 eggs, and a Christmas Progressive dinner, to name a few. She loved genealogy and often would find a fun way to include family history lessons in those gatherings. Holidays were special and she would prepare an enjoyable party for each one. Her motto was "If you feed them they will come" and she made sure her family always had a good meal. She passed away doing something she loved, decorating the home for a family Halloween party.

She loves beautiful music and she enjoys playing the piano. She loves working in her yard and always had beautiful flowers growing. She loves a good thunderstorm, blue skies, birds singing, and the sound of crickets chirping in her backyard. She loves beautiful sunsets, especially when the sky is filled with different colors of reds, pinks, and purples. She loves smelling the roses.

She is a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and she faithfully lives her covenants. She has a deep and abiding testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ and His gospel. Her love of the Savior and her love of her family is manifest by her long hours of family history work. She has always had a name ready to take to the temple. She is now enjoying a beautiful reunion with all of those she learned about and served in this life.

She is preceded in death by her parents and two brothers. She is survived by her eternal companion of 60 years Bruce Herbert Woolley, her children Scott (Sarah), Spencer (Raelynn), Sara Meyers (Ken), Staci Avery (Danny), 17 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, 1 sister and 3 brothers. We will miss her dearly until we are together again.

Funeral services will be held Saturday November 5th at 11:00 a.m. at the chapel on 3050 N Mojave Ln. Provo, Utah. A viewing will be held Friday November 4th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Nelson Mortuary 4780 N University Ave, Provo, Utah and Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the church.