Florence Valois Hixson

Florence Valois (Baker) Hixson passed away on Wednesday, July 5 2023, at her home in Riverton Utah just 7 weeks after the passing of her beloved husband Allen. Valois was born in Mendon, Utah on July 17, 1931, to Jesse Simon Baker and Zina Ruthinda (Hill) Baker. She was the 7th of 8 children. She had 4 brothers and 3 sisters. Valois was married to Allen Dell Hixson on March 17, 1954, in the Salt Lake City Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Valois spent her younger years in Mendon on the family grain farm. She was quite the tomboy, playing softball, climbing trees and barbed wire fences and such. She sustained the associated injuries, including a broken arm. At 15 Valois moved with her family to San Francisco where her father worked in the shipyards. Valois attended 3 different high schools. While in high school, she worked as a nanny for a year. She graduated from Commerce High School in 1949. After high school, Valois worked for Volker, a retail furniture business, as a bookkeeper. On a fateful August weekend in 1951, a group of LDS airmen at Travis Air Force base having heard that a ward in San Francisco had lots of young ladies, pooled their money to travel into San Francisco for a beach party. Valois met Allen and as they say, “the rest was history”. After 6 months of dating, Allen received orders to the Philippines for 2 years. Valois didn’t want to get engaged, but promised to stay single until he returned. They wrote each other regularly and Valois continued to date, but every young man she compared to Allen kept coming up wanting. Allen asked Valois to marry him the night he returned. They were married 2 months later in the Salt Lake City temple on March 17, 1954. Allen and Valois started their family shortly thereafter (their 2 oldest boys) while Allen attended the University of Utah. Over the next 16 years the family grew to 6 children, 5 boys and 1 girl. The family moved to Texas, Mississippi, California, Puerto Rico, Maine and back to California. Valois served in various church callings, mostly Primary. As a homemaker and mother of 6 she tirelessly provided service to her family. She was a great seamstress and quilter. Her quilts will live on as family heirlooms. Following Allen’s retirement, Valois and Allen served 5 Missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Leyte Philippines, the Family History Center (Salt Lake City), on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Charleston South Carolina and as resource missionaries at the South Jordan Deseret Industries. Valois is survived by her children Ken (Sherrie), Brad (Jeanette), Steve, Cheryl (Michael), Scott and Bryan (Julia); 21 grandchildren and 44 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, loving husband (Allen) and daughter-in-law (Eva). Funeral services will be held at the chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 1208 W 12400 S Riverton Utah at 12:00 noon visitation will be at 11:00.

Florence Valois Hixson

July 17, 1931 - July 5, 2023