Special memorial section: Utah girl lived adventurous, rich life
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For one who lived outside Utah's Wasatch Front for only several months of her long life, Marjorie Pay Hinckley experienced a life rich in adventure that included extensive worldwide travel and endearing friendships with countless people.
Her lively conversation and charming sense of humor delighted dignitaries and political leaders from around the world, including the queen of Thailand and the prime minister of England.
But to members of the Church, she was known for her steady — often in the shadows — support of her husband, Gordon B. Hinckley. And she did it with a smile that was the picture of peace.
Sister Hinckley, born in Nephi, Utah, Nov. 23, 1911, was the oldest of six children of Phillip LeRoy and Georgetta Paxman Pay.
Reared in Salt Lake City, Utah, her youth included the traditional experiences of the day that centered her life around family and Church. She distinguished herself as a capable student. She excelled in elocution, which opened opportunities to perform around the Salt Lake Valley. As she grew to adulthood, she performed in dramas, spoke in meetings and participated in activities.
It was during such a setting, while giving a reading at a ward social, when this young girl in pigtails first caught the eye of her future husband. Her naturally curly hair and big brown eyes and her poise in front of an audience caused him to notice the talents of the little girl who lived across the street.
They became friends and, in Gordon B. Hinckley, she saw a young man of great ability.
"When Gordon came home from his mission," she later recounted, "I could tell that he had changed. I had always known he was remarkable, but now there was something even more distinctive about him. As we dated and then became engaged to be married, something became obvious to me. I knew that he loved me, and that he would always be good to me. But I also knew that I would never come first with him. And that was OK.
"I knew Gordon was going to devote his life to the Lord. I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have him devoted to," she said.
During her teen years, she was being spiritually shaped to be the equal of the Lord's prophet. While she always had a testimony of the gospel, she desired a deeper conviction. At age 17, while preparing to teach a Sunday School lesson, she re-read Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision.
"There came into my heart the sweet assurance that when Joseph Smith told what happened to him in the grove, he told the truth. I have never doubted it," she said. Over the course of her life she served with steadiness in many capacities, including YWMIA president, Primary president and counselor in Relief Society presidencies, as well as a teacher in various ward and stake callings.
After the return of Elder Hinckley from his mission to England, their friendship blossomed into courtship. On the eve of their wedding, feeling the weight of economic matters during the Great Depression, Gordon called Marjorie and asked to meet her at Keeley's Cafe on Main Street. As they sat at the counter, he explained that his total assets totaled $150, and he earned only $185 a month.
Marjorie's sense of perpetual optimism prompted her to reassure him that all would be well. She said she hoped for a husband and now she found out she was getting $150 also. "If you've got $150, we're set," she said.
They were married April 29, 1937, by Elder Stephen L Richards in the Salt Lake Temple.
In the next years, five children were born to them: Kathleen, Richard, Virginia, Clark and Jane.
As the weight of Elder Hinckley's assignments grew and took him from home for extended periods, Sister Hinckley shouldered the responsibilities of home and nurturing their children. "Mother made us feel it was a privilege for our father to do what he did," said Jane Dudley.
Sister Hinckley often accompanied her husband on his travels, including to many of the more than 80 temples he has dedicated or re-dedicated, and to the far reaches of the world.
"We've had happy days. We worked hard. We didn't have to get up in the morning and think, 'What can I do today?' There was always something to do, and we had fun doing it," she said.
E-mail: shaun@desnews.com
