Stella "Molly" Marlene Eldredge

Stella Marlene “Molly” Eldredge and her twin Madelon were born premature on January 11, 1931 at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City. Their parents, Irvine Alvin Merrill and Geneva Viola Olsen welcomed their 3 and 4 pounds babies in an era where premature babies had little chance for survival, yet twins thrived and went home to grow up with their 4 older brothers, Robert, Wayne, Keith and Stanley.

On June 20, 2022, at the age of 91, Molly our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend passed away. She has been the matriarch of the Eldredge family for 70 years.

Molly married Claude Eldredge, September 16, 1947. They met at a restaurant where she was employed as a waitress and Claude would drop in for coffee while he was out delivering mail.  She reports their meeting as love at first sight. They were married 63 years at the time of his passing.

Molly graduated from South High School in 1948.

Claude and Molly made their home in Salt Lake City and moved to Taylorsville in 1958, where they raised their family and grew old together. Molly had 4 children; Claudia, Lynda, Kathryn and Casey. She loved her children and was always their number one cheerleader.

To know Molly is to love her. She lit up a room with her sparkling blue eyes and outgoing smile. She was as beautiful inside and out. She was selfless to a fault and shared her talents and love with everyone she knew. Molly didn’t complain even when she had reason. Molly’s love of reading started when she was a child and continued throughout her life. Her second love was creating beautiful artwork. She started painting in her sixties and created hundreds of unique and beautiful paintings.

She was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Molly is survived by her two daughters, Claudia (Doug) Wilcox and Lynda (John) DeBirk; and her son Casey (Najat) Eldredge; her many grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and 2 great-great- grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Claude; a daughter, Kathryn; and three grandchildren. She outlived her twin as well as all her brothers and in laws. She is the end of an era.

We were so blessed to have had our wonderful mother and grandmother with us for so many years and will cherish her memory and the love she gave.

Thank you to all the staff at The Beehive Home of Draper who loved her and cared for Molly as well as the hospice nurse and aide, Alissa and Juliette from Elevation Hospice.

Funeral services will be at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road, Taylorsville, Utah, Saturday, June 25, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m. prior to the service. Interment, Valley View Memorial Park.

To attend virtually: https://vimeo.com/event/2230738