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Sheila Kaye Harrison Westover passed away on April 15, 2020 in Provo Utah. Sheila was the elder of two children born to Clara Elizabeth Nelson and Ivan Harrison of Atoka Oklahoma. Sheila's due date was December 7, 1941, but something frightening happened that day and scared her back up into the comfort of her mother's womb for another month, emerging finally on January 9, 1942. The happy event occurred in Antioch California where Sheila's parents had relocated while Ivan spent the war years building ships for the military. Thirteen months later Sheila's brother Rodger made an appearance.
After the war the family moved back to Atoka where Sheila attended elementary and junior high school. Her mother taught at the elementary school there and her father taught mathematics at the high school. After her junior high years the family moved to Anchorage Alaska where Ivan worked on the pipeline and again taught mathematics at the high school and community college while Clara taught at an elementary school. Sheila resided in Alaska for about 30 years in total. Other places Sheila lived as an adult were New Jersey and Washington state.
Sheila received her bachelors degree in 1966 from East Central State in Oklahoma where she majored in biological sciences and minored in mathematics. She earned a masters degree in mathematics pedagogy from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmund OK some twenty years later, graduating summa cum laude. Professionally Sheila worked briefly in real estate, but longer in education, teaching 20 years for the Anchorage School District, first at Romig Junior High and later at Bartlett High School, teaching primarily science and mathematics. She also taught math briefly at Anchorage Community College, and she taught in the adult education program of the Provo School District.
When Sheila married Keith Westover in 1987 she told him that the two places she never wanted him to move her were Utah or Wyoming. Her familiarity of those states at that time was limited to I80, Salt Lake City and the airport, deserts and wastelands. Her sole souvenir from Utah then was a T-shirt with the slogan on it: "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may be living in Utah." As fortune would have it Keith was offered a position at BYU in Provo UT in 1991, just a year after Sheila had retired from teaching for the Anchorage School District. Remembering her wishes, Keith left the decision to move to Utah up to Sheila, and fortunately her stance on Utah had softened sufficiently by then to allow the move. She discovered that Provo wasn't at all like Salt Lake City and not all that bad.
By this time Keith's parents were retired and living in Star Valley Wyoming where he was born and his mother likewise was born, and grew up. After visiting them there Sheila discovered that Star Valley was nothing like the rest of Wyoming, and in fact reminded her a lot of Alaska. So when Keith's parents died, he and Sheila bought their place in Fairview WY and spent a majority of their time there until she died. Sheila had a great affinity for young teenagers (how else can one explain enjoying junior high students). While in Provo she spent several fruitful years working in the Young Women's and Boy Scout programs.
Sheila was proceeded in death by her parents, a son Kenneth "Mack" McClendon, and son-in-law Dan Goins. She is survived by her husband Keith Westover, brother Rodger Harrison of Perth Australia, daughter Lisa Goins of Carroll IA, son Gabe (Maren) Westover of Lehi UT, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Interment in the Fairview cemetery, April 25, 2020.