Roxalene Belliston

Funeral Recording

Our loving mother and grandmother, Roxalene Belliston, 84, passed away January 22, 2021.  Born August 30, 1936, in Brigham City, Utah to George and LaPrele Ridd.  Married John Edwin Belliston, December 19, 1958 in the Salt Lake Temple.

Survived by her sons Brad, Alan (Renu), daughter LeAnne, grand-daughters Amber and Ashley. Preceded in death by husband John, daughter-in-law Barbara Degen Belliston, parents George and LaPrele, sister Barbara Vigil.

Services will be held at Cannon Mortuary, 2460 E Bengal Blvd (7600 South) Saturday, January 30, 2021, burial to follow at Mountain View Memorial Estates.  Due to COVID we invite family and friends to join us via live stream at 11:30 a.m. Service will be live streamed by clicking the button below. (This will take you to Cannon Mortuary’s Facebook page, where services will be streamed.

Roxalene grew up in Brigham City. Some of her favorite stories to share were about how her sister would scare her when they gathered eggs from the chicken coop, the things she did with friends, and her time working at the Idle Isle Cafe.  One of her favorite stories to share from her childhood was riding in the back of an army truck with her mom in February from Brigham City to Salt Lake City to pick up their piano.  She had the piano up until a few years ago.  She was so excited when close family friends took it for their children to use for their lessons.  She loved watching a video of the kids playing the piano for their virtual Christmas recital.

Roxalene graduated from Brigham Young University School of Nursing in 1958.  While attending school  she lived in what she called the  “nursing home”.  The nursing students lived in a house by LDS hospital. They would go to the hospital for their clinical studies.  Her graduating class remained very close getting together for reunions to share pictures and stories of the past.  When she was with her nursing friends you could count on nursing school stories and lots of laughing.

Roxalene spent over 30 years working as a nurse at LDS Hospital on the Neuro and Cardio units.  It was not uncommon to see her bring home clothes to wash for a patient or one of their family members who ended up being at the hospital unexpectedly.  Over the last few years as she has been a patient in the hospital, the staff would tell her daughter how much they loved caring for Roxalene.  She would tell them about her experiences as a nurse and share a few tips.  She was a nurse right up to the end.  A few days before her passing her wonderful hospice nurse, Christian, shared with her daughter “don’t worry about your mom’s memory.  She’s in here giving me instructions using all the right clinical terminology”.  He would say often how much he loved caring for “Miss Roxalene”.

Roxalene and John enjoyed 60 years of marriage, raising their family in the Cottonwood Heights area. She loved serving those around her whether it be taking cookies to the new neighbors, making dinner for someone who was ill, or serving in various callings in her church. She loved and was loved by her children. She was so excited when she became a grandma and loved visiting with Amber and Ashley.

Since John’s passing in 2019 Roxalene has been living at The Wellington Assisted Living.  There she had a chance to make some dear close friends, enjoy a lot of fun activities, and receive great care.  Unfortunately, like so many others she was impacted by COVID and was unable to be with family and friends.  In November 2020 when she tested positive for COVID she told everyone “I am a tough old bird. I’ll beat it”.  She was right.  She did beat it, but it took its toll.  Her daughter sensed a few weeks ago that she may be hitting her breaking point when she told her to cancel the newspaper.  She read the newspaper everyday as long as her children can remember always starting with the obituaries.

Once Roxalene decided she was ready to be with John her body cooperated and she went quickly.  Before leaving she did have an opportunity to have all her children together to say good-bye.  While not in person, she was able to say good-bye over FaceTime to her grandchildren and daughter-in-law.  The last two days her children were able to by her side they learned, but not surprised, the love the staff had for Roxalene.  They shared stories of her quick wit and how she was always thanked them for anything they did to help.  The last month or so she had her daughter sending in diet coke that she could give to the CNA.  This CNA shared “I came in each night and your mom would send me to the fridge for a diet coke”.  Working many night shifts in her life Roxalene appreciated the work being done.

Roxalene will be missed more than words can express by her family and friends.  She taught and showed her children her love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We can only imagine the reunion when she returned to Him and all of her loved ones who have passed.  Her daughter is confident that she is telling John, her dear friend Shirley, and her sister Barbara who all passed in 2019 that they were a bunch of chickens for not staying around for 2020.

The family would like to thank the staff at The Wellington and Brio Hospice for their amazing care and kindness.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to your favorite charity.