Constance "Connie" Faun Palmer Edholm

Constance “Connie” Faun Palmer 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 the family 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 tight curls, Pendleton wool skirts, and Jantzen sweaters, 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, Bill, and their daughter Bridgette moved from Clarkston, Washington, to Pierce, Idaho, a rugged timber town where church meetings were held in someone’s living room. They lived close to the school where Bill worked, 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 Bill worked at a Campbell’s Soup mushroom farm. It was there that Barry and Benjamin joined the family. Their ward quickly became a strong spiritual anchor, and Connie cherished the familiar rhythm of Sunday School in the morning and Sacrament meeting in the evening. She did, however, miss singing “High on a Mountain Top.” During these years, she served faithfully as the Stake Young Women’s President.

In 1972, the family moved again, this time to Fennville, Michigan, where they lived on the property of a Campbell’s Soup mushroom farm. During those years, they kept an extensive garden that produced more than enough for their needs, allowing them to share generously with others. 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 January 1981, the family returned to the Wheaton, Illinois area, where Bill and Barry had already been living for several months. Bill had resumed work at the Campbell’s mushroom farm—at the same place he had worked years earlier. They settled in a neighboring town close to where they had lived before moving to Michigan. In 1986, Bill’s continuing work with mushroom farms carried the family onward to Hillsboro, Texas.

While living in Hillsboro, Connie worked for the Chamber of Commerce. From the 1990s through the end of her life, Connie made her home 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 a willingness to give her time and effort to those she felt close to.

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 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 Palmer and Warren Palmer; and her sisters Elizabeth Willford, Doris Scott, and Darla Paepke.

Connie Palmer Edholm leaves behind a remarkable legacy, created with her husband, Bill Ronald Edholm, as they nurtured a family grounded in humor, artistry, hard work, industriousness, frugality, kindness, education, entrepreneurship, and strong values. Together they taught their children a love of missionary work and 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. The values they passed on continue to guide their children today.

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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