January 25, 1939 — April 15, 2016
Rhea Mae Rosvall Shute passed away quietly at home on April 15, 2016, in St. George, Utah attended by angels on both sides of the very thin veil separating mortality and the Spirit World. She was born to Oran and Cecile Rosvall on January 25 1939, in Salt Lake City, Utah. These were goodly parents who provided for their children an enduring example of what it means to be faithful Latter-day Saints. They served six missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition, her mother sang in the Tabernacle Choir for thirty-two years.
Rhea attended schools in Salt Lake City and began her university career at the Church College of Hawaii (now BYU Hawaii). She loved from the beginning Polynesians and would later embrace many Samoans as “family.”
She married Ronald Tiffany on February 6, 1961, in the Salt Lake Temple. Five children came of this marriage: Dixie Lynne (Calvin Pierce, deceased, Jim Wooten); Pamela Ann (Mitch Lord); Laura Lee (Todd Galbraith); Ronald Ray; Stephen Edward Tiffany (Celeste). While raising her children, Rhea attended Brigham Young University and was graduated in Elementary Education and began a seventeen-year career teaching third grade students in the Alpine School District.
Through the years she associated with the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and often taught in various local chapters. She faithfully served in a variety of Church callings including twice as a Relief Society President.
She traveled extensively with her career army husband and lived in a number of places in the United States as well as on the Island of Okinawa and in Germany. She enjoyed traveling and getting acquainted with people and places.
Later in life, she was divorced. During this period of time she continued to care for her ailing mother as well as fully immersing herself in Family History and Genealogy work. She became expert in indexing.
It was during this time that she met and married R. Wayne Shute. They were sealed together on August 15, 2012, in the St. George Temple. In their nearly four years of marriage, they enjoyed a myriad of interesting and challenging experiences: They enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon visiting a number of LDS Church History sites including in and around Palmyra and Fayette, New York, the Sacred Grove, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Liberty Jail, and the Kansas City Temple.
On three separate trips, they traveled to British Columbia, Canada where Wayne was raised; they traveled to Hawaii on three occasions; they spent two weeks touring Samoa; they spent a wonderful week in Fiji; they toured the Holy Land; and recently enjoyed a cruise of a number of Mediterranean islands. Most recently, they completed a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brisbane, Australia.
Rhea is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Gene (Pat). She is survived by her children and three brothers, Craig (Shari), Hal (Brenda) and Terry Rosvall (Patty); 27 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Funeral Services
- Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, 2016, at the Sunset Stake Center, 100 N. Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah.
- Family and friends may greet Wayne and other family members beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Relief Society Room of the Stake Center.
- Interment will be in the Tonaquint Cemetery, St. George, Utah.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Spilsbury Mortuary, 435-635-2212.
For condolences, full obituary, and funeral listings please visit Spilsbury Mortuary online.