Iris Howard Hathaway – beloved mother, grandmother, sister, friend, and co-worker
surprised us all by completing a 100-year journey on this earth. It was a well lived life,
and we all came to believe in her unconquerable spirit to adapt and endure. She truly
lived a full and vibrant life.
Iris was born on November 17, 1924, to William Alfred Howard and Rachel Elnora
Thompson Howard, the 8 th of their 13 children. One of her first and most vivid memories
was that of the family home burning to the ground in the middle of the winter when she
was about 4 years old. The house and possessions were destroyed and with no place
to go, the family moved into a garage that her father had enclosed. The boys slept in a
crawl space in the rafters while the 6 girls slept in a tent for two winters. Even when the
family finally moved into a house, they had few amenities – no phone, electricity,
refrigeration (except the root cellar) and no indoor plumbing. Fortunately, there was
always music in the home. Her mother played the piano and the whole family gathered
around to sing along. Her father didn't have any extra money to hire workers, so he
relied heavily on his daughters to do the farm work.
Iris was a curious and active child and had a love of reading and learning. She started
school about three months before her sixth birthday but before the school year was half
over, Iris had read all of the first-grade books and was advanced to the second grade.
Iris loved school and graduated from St. Anthony High School in 1941, in the top third of
her class. She never lost her love for reading and learning new things the rest of her life.
Of course World War II changed everything. Elmo, her boyfriend from high school,
joined the Army Air Corps and Iris went to Ogden to help with the war effort by working
as a secretary at the Ogden Arsenal and loading machine gun belts. They finally
decided to get married when Elmo came home on furlough on January 25, 1943, in St.
Anthony Idaho. They were later sealed for time and eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple
on June 21, 1946.
After establishing a home in Rexburg, Idaho, Iris obtained secretarial employment at
Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) where she worked for thirty years. Her skills and talents
quickly promoted her to the President's office where she served as the President's
secretary for four different presidents. Her contribution to the students and staff at Ricks
were recognized on several occasions through the years.
Iris enjoyed working in various callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. She served in Relief Society, YWMIA, Primary Sunday School, as dance and
road show director, a den mother and a teacher. She found great joy as an ordinance

worker in the Idaho Falls Temple and as a full-time missionary in the Philippines Manila
Mission. Later in life, she focused on her Relief Society ministering assignments and
immersed herself in temple and family history work. Indexing was one of her favorite
activities.
Iris was preceded in death by all 12 of her brothers and sisters, her husband Elmo R.
Hathaway, eldest daughter, Marsha (Hathaway) Bates, son-in-law, Larry Bates, and
granddaughter Teletha (Hathaway) Lambert. Her passion in life was her family and she
took great pride in the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren. She left us
with a century of rich experiences that we will always remember and remind us how
much we miss her in our thoughts and hearts.