Constance "Connie" Fawn Palmer Edholm

Constance “Connie” Fawn Palmer Edholm was born on December 14, 1937, to Joseph Henry Palmer and Lillian Richardson Palmer in Pocatello, Idaho. She passed away on July 7, 2026, at age 88.

Born during the Great Depression, Connie’s early years were shaped by the rugged homestead her family built at the mouth of Mink Creek. The summer before she was born, her father constructed a two‑room cement basement and hauled a two‑room shack out of the hills to place on top of it. There was no electricity, no phone, and water had to be hauled in. Her father worked away from home much of the time, leaving her mother to manage life on the homestead. For days on end, lunch consisted of green tomato preserves and bread — a reflection of the difficult circumstances many families faced during that era.

Connie attended first grade in the one‑room Mink Creek Schoolhouse. Because the teacher was not particularly kind, the children transferred to school in Pocatello the following year. In 1952, her mother decided she had experienced quite enough pioneer‑style living, and the family moved into town in Pocatello.

Connie graduated early from Pocatello High School, where she participated in Speech and Debate. Her ability to join extracurricular activities was limited, as she either had to ride the bus home or walk several miles, but she made the most of every opportunity available to her. Fashionably dressed in her Pendleton wool skirts, she attended Idaho State University for a time.

Connie’s life included challenges that began in her early years and continued into adulthood. Some of these experiences affected her relationships with family members and contributed to the complexities she carried throughout her life. While her journey was not without hardship, it was uniquely her own, shaped by circumstances that left a lasting influence on how she moved through the world.

Connie married Bill Ronald Edholm on August 12, 1957, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho (they later divorced), and together they had seven children.

In the summer of 1959, Connie and her young family moved to Pierce, Idaho, a rugged timber town where church meetings were held in someone’s living room. They lived close to the school, and it wasn’t unusual to see bear tracks on the road near their home.

In 1962, after Blythe was born, the family moved to Portland, Oregon. Connie supported her husband’s work in education while raising her growing family. It was in Portland that she learned about the home‑teaching program and asked if their family could receive visits. Through her faith and desire for gospel support, her husband was taught and soon baptized. During their years in Portland, Brenda, Brian, and Brady were born.

Just before Christmas in 1966, the family moved across the country to Warrens, Wisconsin, where they lived in a ranch‑hand farmhouse with a party‑line phone. Connie, with her family, faithfully made the hour‑long drive to La Crosse each Sunday for church. Six months later, the move to Sparta shortened the drive, but Connie’s dedication remained the same. She continued her tradition of canning wherever they lived, and this is where she created memorable home decorations — including acrylic grapes and flowers made of chicken feathers. The children were responsible for plucking the feathers first, a task remembered with the kind of fondness that only arrives decades later.

In 1968, the family moved to West Chicago, Illinois, where Barry and Benjamin joined the family. Their ward became a strong spiritual anchor, and Connie cherished the familiar schedule of Sunday School in the morning and Sacrament meeting in the evening. She did, however, miss singing “High on a Mountain Top.” It was here she served as the Stake Young Women’s President.

In 1972, the family moved again, this time to Fennville, Michigan. The following summer, they traveled west to the nearest LDS temple, visiting relatives and historic sites. On August 2, 1973, they were sealed together in the Salt Lake City Temple. Church was about twenty minutes away in Michigan, but the stake center was three hours from home, and Connie made the long trips for stake meetings and monthly Seminary Super Saturdays. She also drove miles to pick up youth for Mutual activities, ensuring everyone had a chance to participate.

In 1980, the family moved to Wheaton, Illinois, and in 1986 to Hillsboro, Texas, where Connie worked for the Chamber of Commerce. From the 1990s through the end of her life, Connie lived in Utah — Salt Lake City, Orem, and Provo.

No matter where she lived, Connie served faithfully in every ward and branch she belonged to, strengthening congregations across multiple states through her testimony, kindness, and willingness to serve.

Connie devoted her life to family history. She brought her ancestors to life through the stories she wrote, preserving their personalities, struggles, and joys in a way that helped her family feel connected to them. She shared these stories freely with her children, grandchildren, and extended family, always proud of the pioneer heritage that shaped her life and values. Her family is certain she is now enjoying a grand reunion with those ancestors.

Alongside her love of genealogy, Connie was gifted in both writing and painting. Many friends and relatives treasure the artwork she created for them over the years. One of the most memorable examples of her creativity was a Christmas letter in which she not only described each family member as a Peanuts cartoon character but actually drew them that way — complete with personalities, quirks, and expressions. It was the perfect blend of her humor, imagination, and affection, and proof that Connie could turn even a simple holiday letter into a family classic.

Connie resided in Provo, Utah, until her death on July 7, 2026. She was 88 years old.

She is survived by her children: Bridgette (Lee) Fife of Moreland, Idaho; Blythe (Douglas) Gunson of Sapporo, Japan; Brenda (Scott) Horne of Orem, Utah; Brian (Julie) Edholm of Liberty, Missouri; Brady Edholm of Alexandria, Virginia; Barry (Rebecca) Edholm of Mesa, Arizona; and Ben Edholm of Corpus Christi, Texas. She is also survived by 37 grandchildren, 54 great‑grandchildren, one great‑great‑grandchild, and her brother‑in‑law, Dave Paepke.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Carl and Warren; and her sisters Elizabeth Willford, Doris Scott, and Darla Paepke.

Connie Palmer Edholm leaves behind a remarkable legacy — a family that is humorous, artistic, hardworking, industrious, kind, educated, entrepreneurial, and deeply value‑driven. She instilled in her children and grandchildren a love of missionary work and taught them the importance of finishing what they start, including the simple family standard that no one leaves an activity or event until everything is cleaned up. Her influence continues in the character, values, and unity of the family she nurtured throughout her life. Grandchildren: Tenise (Jerrod) Wertman, Ammon (Diana) Fife, Daniel Fife, Trista (Matthew) Cromwell, Samuel (Kaley) Fife, Tara Fife, Joseph (Hannah) Fife, Tori Fife, Jessica (Tanner) Harmon, Jonathan (Jennifer) Gunson, Rebecca (Joshua) Riddle, Christina (Chad) Murdock, William Gunson, Nathanael Gunson, Eliza (Drew) Andersen, Courtney (Jacob) Cook, Danielle Miller, Alyssa (Myles) Varns, Christopher (Alexa) Horne, Michael Horne, Emily (McKay) Schaalje, Max Horne, Audrey (John) Potter, Lauren (Matthew) Tanner, Palmer (Kaitlyn) Edholm, Emma (Ignacio) Martinez, Andrew Edholm, Eric Edholm, Lucy Edholm, Peter Edholm, Beth (Alex) Allen, Bill (Lacey) Edholm, Lillian Edholm, David (Kallee) Edholm, Heidi Edholm, Henry Edholm, Tyler Edholm

Great-grandchildren: Sariah Wertman, Esther (Matthew) Gray, Helam, Gideon, Miriam, Mosiah, Ruthie, Avigaile, and Simeon Wertman; Clara, Russell, and Jeffrey Fife; Peter, Mable, Joseph, Andrew, Jonathan, Benjamin, and Robert Cromwell, Alina and Avery Fife; Rachel, Jacob, and Sarah Fife: Serenity, Scarlette, Theodore, Lily, and Roger Harmon; Salma Gunson: Monroe, Carolina, Forrest, and Matilda Riddle; Clayton, Charleigh, Cooper, and Cannon Murdock; Ryder and Jayden Cook; Robyn and Parker Varns: Evelyn and Olivia Horne: Oliver, Evan, and Violet Potter; Van, Jake, and Poppy Tanner; Gilbert and August Allen; Waylon and Whetton Edholm.

Great-great-grandchild: Timothy Gray

A viewing will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at Wheeler-Sundberg Funeral Home, 495 South State Street, Orem, Utah. A graveside service will follow at 11:00 a.m. at Orem City Cemetery, 1520 North 800 East, Orem, Utah.

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