Mona Joy Hale

After the carols had been sung, the sausage gravy eaten, and all the presents were opened, Mona Joy Hale fell asleep for the final time on her spot on the couch at her childhood home on Brennan street, having been loved and having loved well for seventy years.
Mona was born to Robert Franklin and Margaret Pril Chandler Hale on December 17, 1951.  She was the oldest of six children, and was soon followed by Victor (Shauna) Hale, Robert “Dusty” Hale, Kristi (Craig) Gould, Cindy (Steven) Avery, and Brent (Bobbi) Hale.
Mona graduated from Pocatello High school in 1970.  She participated in the Junior Achievement Organization, winning the state award her sophomore year and won the national title as president her senior year.
During the day, Mona was either a Russian cosmonaut, a CIA operative or worked as the governmental auditor at AMI/On Semiconductor. Mona travelled the world, from Singapore to the Philippines, from Belgium to Czechoslovakia.  Her passport held amazing secrets and she got to see amazing things.  Mona’s job kept her busy and, while she enjoyed traveling, she loved being back home in Idaho.
Nights and weekends would find her kidnapping nieces and nephews to take them fun places.  She regularly negotiated settlements (somewhat) peacefully, setting a firm but fair custody schedule. Mona would grab her partners in crime (Cindy and sometimes Steven)and then would return the kids to the waiting parents with full McDonald’s bellies and a wildly inappropriate toy, like a Kazoo, train whistle or harmonica.  She was very helpful like that.
Mona’s home was a sanctuary and a refuge for anyone in need. Her door was a safe haven. There was always food on the table, milk in the “other fridge”, and a listening ear. Homework help was always available and a good book was never far from a night stand or an end table.  Favorite nieces and nephews were recruited to help make the fabulous recipes and do all the dishes but we were taught the value of hard work and dedication.
Mona gave us the ability to achieve our dreams. She would wheedle out your hopes and fears and do anything in her power to make sure you were successful in business. She would drive by everyone’s house in the yellow bus, also known as the short bus, checking to make sure that nothing was amiss. She cared for Grandpa and then Grandma as they aged, made sure Dusty was taken care of later in life and then joined School District 25 as a grandmother in the classroom, helping those kids who needed a little more love and attention.
Mona knew the business of the family and was the first call when things needed to be done. She loved teaching primary and had a strong testimony of the gospel. Mona is reunited with her parents and brother Dusty and is at peace. She is survived by a wealth of nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews and had to get to heaven first to hold the next one safe until he arrives in a couple of months.  We will miss you so much but we are better for having known you.