Lest We Forget

From 1847 to 1869 approximately 86,000 persons, mainly converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, left their established homes to build anew in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, and about 6,000 were buried along the way. Hilda Anderson Erickson, the last known surviving Utah pioneer, died on Jan. 1, 1968, at age 108, thus ending an illustrious era. Other late survivors were Tora Nielsen J. Starkie, who died in 1961; Minnie Peterson Brown, Selina Beddous Kelsey, and Harriet Paris Smith Clawson, who died in 1962; and Heber Charles Cox, who died in 1963. They were representative of the thousands of western pioneers who left to posterity a rich heritage of faith, fortitude, leadership, and vision.

Salt Lake City, Utah · United States