Mary Ellen Cash

Lehi 1st Ward Zoom Link:

https://zoom.us/j/92415772276?pwd=eOcraeuVZvWFRqJoSrL8MDMCTca6vs.1

Meeting ID: 924 1577 2276             Passcode: 717134

Mary Ellen Willey Cash, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, sister, cousin and friend, passed away peacefully on July 5, 2026. She was 94. Our ray of sunshine will be dearly missed, as she brought light, laughter and love to everyone with whom she came in contact.

Mary Ellen was born August 9, 1931, in Grangeville, Idaho, to loving parents Vernon and Georgia Willey, the third of six children. She grew up on the beautiful Camas Prairie in northern Idaho and loved it more than any other place on earth. It was there in high school that she met her future husband and companion, Guy W Cash, Jr. They were married on Christmas Day 1949 and shared 75 years together before Guy passed away in January 2025. Together they raised 7 children, who adore her and will miss her greatly. Her family was her greatest gift and each one felt her deep love for them. We truly come from a "Long Line of Love."

Mary Ellen, along with Guy, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1950 in Lewiston, Idaho, and were devoted to the Church their entire lives. It was the foundation for everything they were! While living in Lewiston, Idaho, they were nurtured in the gospel of Jesus Christ by loving friends and church members. Five of their seven children were born there and still call it home. After moving from Lewiston, Mary Ellen and Guy raised their family in Pocatello, Idaho and then later in Lehi, Utah. The friends they made in every place they lived, became as close as family..

In Lehi they opened Cash's Western Auto, and were an integral part of Main Street and the Lehi community for many years. Mary Ellen was a founding member of the Lehi Arts Council, which still exists today. As their own parents aged, they moved back to Grangeville for 5 years to take care of them, and loved being back in Mary Ellen's childhood home and community. When they retired, they settled in St. George, Utah, and absolutely loved their 27 years there among the beautiful red rocks.

They were always serving others in some capacity, caring for the less fortunate, the sick and the lonely. They served two missions for the Church, one to Louisville, Kentucky, and a second to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. Later they served in the temple presidency of the St. George temple and loved their association with the people there. Mary Ellen loved the Relief Society and socializing with her "sisters." She ALWAYS had a quilt in the works and her children often couldn't fit into the living room because the quilt was taking up so much space. She loved a full house and could manufacture a "feast" for any size group at the drop of a hat and produce it without ever rushing to the grocery store for last minute items. She just "made do" (as she would say). She was calm under pressure, especially in the kitchen.

Mary Ellen was such a joy to be around. Her ability to see the beauty in the smallest things was a true gift. She often commented on the natural world around her; whether it was the beautiful mulberry tree out her window, the birds singing, or the red hill behind her St. George house, she was grateful for the beauty that God created and didn't take it for granted. She was such a fun mom and grandma - making sock puppets and putting on shows, …, taking her grandkids toilet papering, playing red rover, and even until the very end of Guy's life, playing a game of Rummikub. She had a positive attitude and it was hard not to be happy when you were around her. When one of her children became frustrated completing a task, she would start in with Edgar A. Guest's poem, "Somebody said that it couldn't be done, but I with a chuckle replied…" Even through her dementia the past few years, she had a quick wit and funny sense of humor, often responding to the assisted living center aides' question of how they could help her, with "I could use $1000."

Things that remind us of Mary Ellen: black licorice, gingersnaps, music, ("You are my Sunshine", "My Heavenly Father Loves Me", "Give Said the Little Stream","Popcorn popping on the Apricot Tree", and "Let us 'oft speak kind words to each other"), red rover, ice cream (her freezer in St. George was always full of at least 4-5 flavors and she served it after every meal).

She instilled in each of us a love of God, family, music, and nature, and we are all better humans for having known her.

She loved her in-law sons and daughters like they were her own and they loved her right back! She is survived by her seven children: Penny (Ned) Cutler, Nick (Jolene), John (Debbie), Joel (Lynette), Lori (Brett) Kassing, Bob (Judy), and Tim (Tiffany), 25 grandchildren, 84 great grandchildren, with 2 great great grandchildren soon to be born, one sister, Lynda Madden, sister-in-law Judy Willey, numerous nieces and nephews, cousins, neighbors and friends. Preceded in death by her beloved Guy, her parents, sister Peggy, and brothers Bruce, Richard and Robin. Her family is so grateful to the kind staff at The Lehi Covington Assisted Living Center, and to Keanna and Karley from Renew Home Health and Hospice, who loved Mary Ellen, and treated her with dignity and respect these last 18 months.

We all love you Mary Ellen! "You are my sunshine" and we can't wait until we see you again!

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday July 15, 2026 at the Church on 220 West 200 South in Lehi, Utah at 12:00 PM. A viewing will take place from 11:00-11:45 before the service. Interment Prairie View Cemetery in Grangeville, Idaho on July 18, 2026 at 2:00 PM.