Betty Loyce Burton Seaver

Betty Loyce Burton Seaver, 91, of Lehi, Utah, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2026, at her apartment at Summerfield Retirement, surrounded by her loving family.

Betty was born on March 15, 1935, on her grandparents' farm in Whiteface, Texas, to Carl Orland Burton and Martella Nadine Phillips Burton. Just three weeks after her birth, her father passed away from dust pneumonia. When Betty was six years old, her mother married Henry Fount Lafferty. Before accepting his proposal, her mother asked Betty if she thought she should marry him. Betty's simple reply was, "I reckon."

At just 19 years old, Betty lost both her mother and stepfather in an automobile accident, leaving her an orphan. As an only child, she learned early in life to face heartbreak with remarkable courage and resilience. Those qualities became hallmarks of the way she lived the rest of her life.

Betty married the love of her life, James Vernon Seaver, on August 3, 1951. She was 16 years old, and Vernon was 17. Because Betty was a minor, her parents signed the legal consent for the marriage, while Vernon claimed to be 18. One year later, at the age of 17, Betty welcomed their first child.

Their marriage was one of unwavering love and devotion that lasted until Vernon's passing on June 14, 2015. She missed him every day of the eleven years they were apart, and her family finds comfort in knowing they are together once again.

In 1957, Vernon and Betty moved with their two young children to Etna, California, where they welcomed four more children and raised their family on the farm they dearly loved. After all six of their children were grown they moved to Utah to be closer to most of their family.

Although Betty left high school to marry Vernon, education remained one of her greatest passions. Her parents had promised to buy her a new car if she finished high school before marrying, but she chose Vernon instead. Years later, as her oldest child approached graduation, Betty earned her GED so she could become a high school graduate before her child did. She never stopped learning and inspired that same love of reading and learning in her children.

Every week she took her children to the Etna Library. Before long, she was leading story time for children, which eventually led to a position working at the library. She built an extensive personal library and remained an avid reader throughout her life. Even after losing her eyesight, she continued her love of books by listening to more than a thousand audiobooks.

At the age of 35, Betty was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma while raising six children. Of her six children, the oldest was in college, and her youngest was only three years old. Doctors told her they might be able to extend her life by five years. Instead, with her characteristics of faith, determination, and courage, she went on to bless the lives of her family and countless others for more than five decades beyond that diagnosis.

Betty's desire to learn was matched only by her desire to serve. In 1976, she became an EMT and volunteered for the Etna Ambulance, serving her community for more than a decade.

Service was simply who Betty was. She faithfully served in numerous callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was admitted to the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on October 18, 1961, beginning 65 years of dedicated service to the organization's ideals of patriotism, historic preservation, and education. She and Vernon were members of the Civil Air Patrol. She taught 4-H sewing classes, volunteered at her children's elementary school, served on a Siskiyou County committee to help establish a drug and alcohol treatment facility, volunteered as a docent at Thanksgiving Point, served at BYU Women's Conference, volunteered at the Provo Missionary Training Center, and generously gave her time wherever she saw a need. If there was an opportunity to serve, Betty was there.

Betty was an exceptionally talented seamstress. She painted scenery, created beautiful artwork on fine China, and seemed able to revive any struggling plant. Her flower and vegetable gardens brought beauty to everyone who saw them. She loved fashion, but especially shoes. She delighted in finding perfect pairs for her tiny feet. As a teenager, her parents wired her money for a bus ticket home. Instead, she bought a pair of bright red shoes. Her parents were less than thrilled when they had to wire her more money so she could finally make it home.

Perhaps Betty's greatest legacy was her lifelong search for spiritual truth. Although her parents did not belong to a church, as a young girl she often found her own way to church, frequently attending with her granny. She eventually joined the Southern Baptist Church. After marrying Vernon, she set out to learn about his faith fully expecting to convince him he belonged to the wrong church. Instead, she found the truth she had been seeking and was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and together she and Vernon faithfully raised their family in that faith.

Betty will be remembered for her unwavering faith, her lifelong pursuit of knowledge, her generous service, her deep love for her family, and the quiet courage with which she faced every challenge life placed before her.

She is survived by her six children: Orland (Meredith) Seaver of Orem, Utah; Candace (Jim) of Mapleton, Utah; Lar (Mary, deceased 2023) Seaver of Bainbridge, Indiana; Shari (Ben) of Provo, Utah; Carl (Karry) of Bainbridge, Indiana; and Rebecca (Kevin) of Provo, Utah; 29 grandchildren, 73 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sweetheart Vernon, a granddaughter Sarah Caye Seaver (1991), and great-grandson Hunter Logan Chase (2024).

We’d like to end this obituary with some well-known words from Mom, “Be sweet”; good advice for all of us.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Wheeler-Sundberg Funeral Home, 495 South State Street, Orem, with a viewing held that morning from 9:30-10:30 at the funeral home prior to the services. Interment will be in the Orem City Cemetery, 1520 North 800 East, Orem.

Condolences for the family may be expressed on this page.

For those unable to attend the services in person, you may view the Livestream HERE