Sherril Smiley Evans
December 19, 1938 – November 10, 2021
Sherril Smiley Evans, a beautiful lady of English heritage, passed away peacefully on November 10, 2021 with her loving family and the music she loved. She enjoyed a happy life but consistently experienced difficult health challenges and faced them with grace, strength, and a positive attitude. Sherril is now fully united with the Lord and her spirit has encountered new adventures and enjoys her parents, grandparents, brothers and friends.
Sherril was born on December 19, 1938 in Ogden, Utah. She was the eldest of two children born to loving parents, William Francis Smiley and Elda Poulsen. Sherril was a lovely, happy child with big beautiful green eyes and thick brown hair. Sherril was gifted with a wonderful singing talent with an amazing soprano vocal range up to the high “C”. In her early years she won numerous awards for her outstanding singing voice and shared her talent with solos and choirs into her adult years. During her teens she was a member of the Red Cross and engaged in the arts and acting in high school. She excelled in English and developed a keen intellect and a love of reading and writing. She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in business administration and worked as a secretary for the university’s speech department. Sherril met the love of her life, David John Evans, in the library. He told her: “YOU are exactly the person I wanted to see!” and asked her out on a date for a play. David proposed marriage a few years later, and they were married in the Salt Lake City Temple. Together they raised a beautiful family with 6 kids, 5 dogs, fun adventures, and lived in Salt Lake City, Price, Cedar City, and St. George, Utah. They were happily married for 61 years and consistently close companions.
Sherril had a deep love for the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a beautiful testimony of our Savior. She and David served two LDS missions together in Colorado and England, and she was faithful in her numerous Church callings. She enjoyed many years of service in St. George LDS Temple and was a loyal member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers where she served as a past president. She loved genealogy and worked in the Family History Library for many years. She was great at research and helped many people find loved ones through family history. Sherril had a deep love for music and could be seen with a big, long smile as she enjoyed concerts and musicals, and admired the musical talent of others. Sherril loved books, read to her grandchildren, and took them on trips to the library. She mastered the English language and for years managed to solve every daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper during her morning breakfast.
Sherril leaves behind her husband David John Evans, their children Robert Smiley Evans (Salt Lake City), Rebecca Evans Dixon (Salt Lake City), Susan Evans Galetka (Rusty, Cedar City, UT), Stephen Smiley Evans (Brigham City, UT.) ), Elizabeth Evans Robinson (Matt, St. George, UT), and Catherine Evans Peden (St. George, UT). She has 16 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Sightseeing is available at Spilsbury Mortuary at 110 S. Bluff Street, St. George, Utah, on Sunday, November 14th, from 5pm to 7pm, and on Monday, November 15th, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am . The funeral will take place on Monday, November 15 at 11:00 am at Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ, Morningside 2nd Ward, at 881 S. River Road, St. George, UT. He is buried in Tonaquint Cemetery on 1777 South Dixie Drive, St. George, UT. The zoom link for the memorial service is: Zoom.com, ID: 87672695707, Passcode: MS2Ss
Arrangements are made on the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S. Bluff St., St. George, Utah, (435) 673-2454.
Published by Spilsbury Mortuary – St. George November 12-13, 2021.
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