Fern Nelson Baker Leavitt, age 94, lovingly called “Gammy” by her grandchildren, passed away September 19, 2016 from natural causes in Yuma, Arizona where she was being cared for at her daughter, Connie’s assisted living home, Bee Hive Homes.
She was born May 5, 1922 in the city of Cardston, Alberta, Canada to Cyril and Zelma Nelson. When she was 8 years old she moved with her family to Montana for a brief five years. At the age of 13, her family moved to Hinckley, Utah where she lived until her marriage. She met Richard Sanders Baker in Delta at Billy Van’s Dance Hall. They married on September 12, 1942 and raised a family together while owning and operating the farm they bought just south of Delta, Utah. After Richard Sanders Baker passed away in 1986, Fern continued to live where they had raised their family until she met and married Arnold “Lug” Leavitt in September of 1996. After they married, she moved from the farm house to town where she resided until Lug passed on in 2012.
Fern was known for her amazing ability to cook a home cooked meal from memory, play a mean game of rummy with the grandkids, and bowl with the best of them. Her cooking often brought her entire family to Delta for holidays together. She always had a great desire to socialize with friends and family and know what was happening. She loved time with her local friends, getting updates on her grandkids and seeing them play and participate in their extra-curricular activities from sports to dancing to racing various motorized vehicles.
She is survived by her three children: Connie Baker (Gary, deceased) Morris; Ronald (Margaret, deceased) Baker; Jean “Jeanne” Kendall Baker (Steven) Habel; 11 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren; sister: Phyllis (Boyd) Mink. She was preceded in death by husbands: Richard Sanders Baker and Arnold Leavitt; granddaughter: Andrea Habel Greenberg; grandsons: Alec Habel, Garrick Habel, and Elliot Gillen.
Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2016, at 11:30 a.m., at the Delta LDS Stake Center, 125 White Sage Ave. Viewing will be held Saturday, 10:00-11:10 a.m., prior to the service. Burial will be in the Delta City Cemetery.