Marie Packard was born on February 2, 1953, in Cedar City, Utah, to Alton and Virginia Marshall. After a thirteen-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Marie left this life on May 16, 2022, to see her family and friends.
Marie grew up in Minersville, Utah, where she was raised in a horse racing family. She could always be seen riding a horse and had the privilege of being strong-willed and afraid of nothing, growing up very athletic and firm in her church and her love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
In 1967, she met Verl Packard from Beaver, with whom she was absolutely mesmerized. They fell in love, dated and were married in June of 1968. Marie was, is, and will always be the love of his life. They were sealed in the St. George Temple in June of 1969. They moved to Moab in February 1970 with their daughter, Trina. Marie said as the family entered Moab: “Wow! There is a stoplight in this town. This must be a big place!” In 1970, Trisha became part of the family, followed by Traci, Travis and Trenton, all of whom have been such a blessing in her life.
She was very good at women’s softball, playing shortstop and then catcher on the Moonshiner women’s team. They traveled all over Colorado and Utah playing ball. She once played in a tournament in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 105-degree heat where she caught 5 games in one day. Verl always remarked that he was glad that she could play ball, which she loved, as she missed out on high school sports because they got married so young.
Marie was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and held many leadership positions. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her life was filled with service to others, continually doing good things for people. While Travis and Trenton were in high school, she started working on her nursing degree. Marie graduated in 1994 with a degree in nursing, coincidentally graduating the same year as her daughter, Traci. The family was so proud of her because, with her, family came first. Graduation was a tender moment as she accomplished what she always wanted to do.
Marie Packard always put others first in her life. She was loved by everyone she met. She was an outstanding nurse to three different doctors. She was the co-founder of Packard Distributing and had the pleasure of working alongside Verl for over 25 years.
She will surely be missed by this family, but we are grateful for her gifts and her example of how to live an honorable life. We are blessed with the knowledge that families are eternal and we will all be together again.
Thank you to Grand County Hospice for your care and love during this difficult time.
Marie is survived by her husband of 54 years, Verl Packard; her children, Trina (Linda) Quinney-Packard, Trisha (Steven) Flick, Traci (Ryon) Jones, Travis (Janae) Packard, and Trenton (Kelly) Packard; and by her 22 grandchildren and 3 ½ great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, May 21 at 11 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (701 Locust Lane). Viewings were held at the same location on Friday, May 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. and again on Saturday from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral.
In lieu of flowers, the Packard family requests donations are made to Grand County Hospice or to the Alzheimers Association (alz.org).You may send condolences to the family at www.spanishvalleymortuary.com.
