Erma Gene Bennion Rollins

Erma Gene Bennion Rollins passed away peacefully at her home in Provo, Utah, on November 10, 2026, at the age of 97. She was preceded in death by her parents, Sterling Alfred and Beryl Hamilton Bennion; her brother, Sterling Hamilton Bennion, and her sisters, Marion Bennion Stevens and Lucille Smith, and their spouses Wayne E. Stevens and Calvin N. Smith; a granddaughter, Kari Ann Rollins, and a great-grandson, Colin Jay Quigley. Erma is survived by her husband, Boyd Carter Rollins, and their five children, Alan Boyd Rollins and his wife, Katherine; Robert Bennion Rollins and his wife, Carol; Jay Reed Rollins and his wife, Nancy; Lujean Rollins Marshall; and Richard Neal Rollins and his wife, Barbi. She also leaves behind 37 grandchildren, 84 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren. Erma was born on August 1, 1929, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the third of four children born to Sterling and Beryl Bennion. She was raised in Delta, Utah, where she lived until leaving to attend the Branch Agricultural College (BAC) in Cedar City, Utah.

It was at the BAC where Erma first met Boyd. They both played alto sax together in the BAC jazz band. Although they saw each other during band practices, they each had their own sweetheart. However, after Boyd found out that Erma had recently broken up with her boyfriend, he immediately asked her out. Their first date was to a school dance. Boyd was a star on the BAC track team. When she went to watch him run in a track meet, she got fired from her job at a candy kitchen because her replacement never showed up.

As college students, they were going steady when Boyd decided to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). He was called to the Northern States Mission where he served for two years while Erma continued her studies. They were married in the St. George temple just two and a half weeks after his return. The very next day, they drove straight to Logan, Utah, without a honeymoon, so that Boyd could enroll in the fall semester at Utah State University (USU). While Boyd studied, Erma worked, a pattern that would continue for the next ten years as Boyd earned a B.A. at USU, M.A. at Brigham Young University (BYU), and PhD. at Cornell University. During that period, Boyd’s education was interrupted for two years so that he could fulfill a two-year active-duty assignment in Aberdeen, Maryland, as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.

In addition to supporting Boyd during his schooling and military service, Erma was busy birthing and raising four of their children--Alan, Bob, Jay, and Lujean—born, respectively, in Logan, Utah; Aberdeen, Maryland; Provo, Utah; and Ithaca, New York. During Boyd’s graduation ceremony at Cornell, in recognition of her hard work and sacrifice, Erma was awarded her own honorary PhT (put-hubby-through) “degree.” She then devoted herself to being a full-time mother as Boyd’s teaching career took the family to Athens, Georgia; Orem, Utah; and St. Paul, Minnesota, where a 5th child, Richard, was added. They eventually settled in the beautiful Provo Riverbottoms area where Boyd taught at, and then retired from, BYU.

During Boyd’s career at BYU, Erma took advantage of free tuition for spouses to complete a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in horse management and equitation. Her interest in horses began in her early childhood and continued throughout her life. Erma was about three years old when a young untrained horse came to eat from the flat-bed hay wagon she was riding on. Little Erma somehow managed to climb onto the horse’s back all by herself. Luckily, she was retrieved without being injured. Thus began her life-long love for horses. Throughout her life, nearly everywhere she lived Erma insisted on having “horse property” where she could keep and breed horses.

As a teenager, Erma spent much of her free time riding horses. She was an excellent rider and was often asked to ride horses owned by others. A local horse-breeder asked her to put miles on his two black horses. She would often race them at night along a canal road that served as a favorite parking place for teenage lovers. For fun, Erma would ride one of the black horses “like a bat out of hell” to startle the parked couples. After winning a local rodeo contest, Erma served as rodeo queen for West Millard County.

Later in life, Erma excelled in the BYU equitation program, participating in numerous horse-riding competitions. She received a trophy for earning the highest number of points in competitions her final year. Her horse-riding skills later earned her many trophies in riding competitions throughout Utah. In addition, she became very skilled at nutrition and healthcare for horses which was particularly useful when they started a horse-boarding and horse-breeding business known as “Rollins Stables” at their Riverwoods home. In addition to receiving many awards for raising and showing horses, Boyd and Erma also enjoyed riding their horses in local parades and giving carriage rides in their quaint horse-drawn carriages.

Once her children were old enough to attend school, Erma got a job at Utah Valley Hospital as a receptionist and telephone operator working the night shift. This allowed her to work when the children were sleeping and sleep during the day while the children were at school. Erma retired after working at the hospital for 15 years, but she continued to serve as a volunteer “pink lady” in the hospital gift shop for several years. In 2015, she received a special recognition at a hospital award ceremony for providing more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service.

At age 97, Erma enjoyed living comfortably in her Provo condominium with Boyd and their daughter Lujean. Last year, Erma and Boyd celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary together with many friend and family at the nearby Riverwoods LDS meetinghouse. She was a life-long active member of the LDS Church, serving in numerous callings and fulfilling many service opportunities.