Leah Jane Ballard Beck

BURLEY – Leah Jane Beck left this earth to be with her Savior November 17, 2020, at the age of 83.

Leah was born to Joseph William and Velma Mary (Williams) Ballard May 5, 1937, in Declo, Idaho. At the age of four, her older brother, Kendall and her parents moved from Declo to Burley when her dad changed jobs. Leah began school at the Miller School and then onto Burley Junior High and high school. Some of Leah’s most memorable high school days were spent as a cheerleader at Burley High School. Her graduating class was the first class to graduate from the “new Burley High School” in 1956. After graduation, Leah attended and graduated from cosmetology school at Idaho State University then started her career as a hairdresser in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, until the love her life, Wayne, returned home from his tour of duty with the United States Army.

Wayne and Leah dated for a few years before marrying September 11, 1959, in Burley by Bishop Golden Wood. Wayne and Leah lived south of town where they farmed the desert alongside Wayne’s family. They were later sealed in the Ogden Utah Temple in 1976. Their original plan was to be sealed in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple; however, the timing was at the same time as the flooding from the failure of the Teton Dam.

Leah will forever be remembered as the most generous and gracious lady and beautician. Leah donated hundred and hundreds of hours alongside her dear friends the Garrard Girls, Norma Cunnington, and Carolyn Bradshaw as volunteer hairdressers for more than 36 years at the former Cassia Memorial Hospital’s long-term care facility, and at Parke View Rehabilitation and Care Center. Leah took great pride in her work, and she loved making everyone who sat in her chair feel special.

Outside of taking care of her family and her clients, she loved watching her boys, young and old, play sports, camping and fishing with family, and shopping with her girlfriends. Some would say that she was just as content window shopping as actually purchasing goods. Leah also took great pride in being a leader in the Young Women program for 20 years. Every young woman that she worked with became her lifelong friend. After retiring from the farm in 2010, Wayne and she served a mission in Nauvoo, Ill., for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Leah took great pride in her job as the sight leader over Brigham Young’s home.

Wayne and Leah were blessed with three sons: Brice (Jodie Adams), Bart (Danene Manning), and Scott (Jennifer Bell); 13 grandchildren; and 11 ½ great-grandchildren.

Leah was preceded in death by her parents; her brother Kendall and his wife Jeanette; and her infant brother, Jerry.

The family would like to thank Intermountain Homecare & Hospice for their on-going support and compassion.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 24, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Burley West Stake Center, located at 2420 Parke Ave., in Burley. Burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery.

Friends may call from 5 until 7 p.m. Monday, November 23, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and at the church on Tuesday, from 10 until 10:45 a.m.

For those attending the viewing or the funeral service, face masks will be required and social distancing will be practiced.

For those unable to attend, a live webcast of the Funeral Service will be available at the following link: https://youtu.be/EJHEQSOoJ_8.