Elaine Merrill

Elaine Christensen Merrill, our mother, passed away on July 17, 2026. She was just shy of her 89th birthday, having been born on August 23, 1937, in Goshen, Idaho, to Leland and Reta Christensen. She grew up in a busy and active household with three older brothers and three younger sisters. Of necessity, she worked hard, but also loved people and socializing. The many saved letters and an occasional old report card (which she tried to discretely keep from us) attest to how this all worked out. Those same friendly letters often referred to her as “Tizzy”: a childhood nickname whose origins are long-lost to us, but do lead to some fun speculation.

After high school, Elaine worked hard at Financial Credit and was able to attend a few semesters of college. Eventually, she decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called to the Central British Mission. In late 1962, shortly before she left, she was invited to dinner at the home of some new Goshen neighbors, Louis and Karen Merrill. During that dinner, she was introduced to Louis’s older brother, Wayne. Apparently, the evening was a smashing success because Wayne and Elaine began, and continued, an increasingly familiar correspondence over the course of her mission.

Upon Elaine’s return, she and Wayne continued writing, along with some actual dates. Fittingly, Wayne, who was then living and working in North Dakota, eventually proposed to Elaine…in a letter. She accepted and they were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on November 20, 1964. Shortly thereafter, they returned to Devils Lake, North Dakota. Although they lived there just a few short years, they made life-long friends with the Himle and Billings families. It was also here that Judy, their first child, was born.

Eventually, the draw of extended family brought them back to Idaho Falls. Here, their family was completed when Peggy and then Jeff arrived. Using their savings, Wayne and Elaine soon built a home in Ammon and lived together on Wanda Street for over forty years. Our mom, Elaine, was truly the epicenter of this home. She worked so very hard — cooking, canning, baking (Christmas was always amazing), cleaning, paying bills, sewing, decorating, washing, ironing (yes, even our pillowcases and t-shirts), encouraging, cheering, correcting, teaching and loving us. Her influence was such that her absence was palpable on the occasional days we came home from school and she was out running errands. That should be testament enough to what she created for us.

In 1992, her life took an unexpected turn when she and her good friend, Joan Johnson, were injured in an accident. In the almost thirty-four years since, we felt like we got a 2.0 version of our mom. While things were different, we watched our father faithfully care for her for over twenty years. Then, for the next eleven years, each of our families got to spend time with her. She fiercely loved us, our spouses, each of her eight grandchildren, and a growing number of great-grandchildren. It was always a memorable experience to hear her pray for us each night. During these years, we also learned a few other things about Mom: she had the selective hearing of a bat, a curious ability to drop some unexpected and witty one-liners, a few perplexing obsessions, a passion for The Price is Right (preferring Bob over Drew), a love for our pet dogs (their reciprocal love rooted in the Grandma supply of illicit snacks), an insistence on weekly “wash-n-set’s” and quarterly perms, an astonishing dedication to puzzle books (with frequent checks of the answers in the back), a deep appreciation of fresh-baked cookies, unresolved confusion over the nature of cordless phones (cell phones were a hopeless mystery), a secret love of sparkly tennis shoes, a faithful dedication to weekly Tabernacle Choir Broadcasts, an unwavering commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and so much more.

This final year of her life was particularly challenging. Curiously, she didn’t complain, she just soldiered through the difficulties. Through it all, she more often expressed her love to each of us and seemed to develop a deeper softness. We like to imagine that on the morning of July 17, 2026, she was simply elated to once again be able to think clearly, to laugh, to cry, to feel, to walk, and to hug so many friends and family she had not seen for a time.

Mom, we love you. You gave us everything you had, and then a little bit more. Here’s hoping we can do the same.

Elaine is survived by her children, Judy (Greg) Shippen, Peggy (Mark) Barrie, Jeff (Ann) Merrill; her awesome grandchildren (Cody, Lindsey, Allison, Lauren, Josh, Ben, Nate, and Claire); and eight amazing great-grandchildren (Chloe, Isla, Sam, Bria, Lainey, Claire, Bo, and Archie). She is also survived by two sisters: Shirley Bowers and Bonnie Gorney.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne; her parents, and siblings: Elwood Christensen, Darwin Christensen (died at birth), Richard Christensen, Raymond Christensen, and Marilyn Crofts.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 25, 2026, at the Ammon 23rd Ward, 4030 John Adams Parkway. The family will visit with friends Friday from 6:30-8 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side, 963 S. Ammon Road, and Saturday from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to services at the church. Burial will be in the Ammon Cemetery.