Bertha Bell Fullmer

Three days after her 100th birthday, Bertha Clements Fullmer peacefully left this life to reunite with her Savior, her husband, and 11 siblings.

Born in her Grandma Anderson’s home in Rexburg, Idaho near the end of WWI, she lived through the Great Depression and worked through WWII. Bertha was taken by the charm of Sidney Keith Fullmer at only 14 years old. They rekindled that young infatuation years later and married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1943. They expanded on the Fullmer Legacy by raising their eight children in a music-filled, gospel-centered home.

With Sidney’s support they bought a craft store and expanded into ceramics. With her artistic ability and determination, the store helped provide financial support for the family. It also created opportunities for her children, grandchildren, numerous nieces and even a few nephews to work hard and fuel their creativity. Those experiences taught crucial life lessons that shaped their lives, careers, and the paths they took.

She was a voracious reader all through her life. She loved the scriptures, a good novel, and historical fiction. In her late 80s she embraced technology and bought her first iPad, enabling her to continue reading even as macular degeneration began to diminish her eyesight. With the enlarged font she read clear up to her last year of life. She maintained an all-encompassing and relatable wit that provided her with an amiable lesson to share with many ears that were eager to hear from her.

Bertha survived a quadruple bypass, cancer, and several other surgeries. She and Sidney survived raising eight children in a home with only one bathroom.

Bertha loved adventure and went skydiving at the age of 86. She passed along that spirit to most of the family. She will remain one of the strongest individuals any of us have had the privilege of knowing. What else can be said for 100 years of a meaningful life? Our world and our families have been made better by her choices.

She is survived by her children: Kay Ripplinger (Larry), Irene Weatherston (Leland), Keith Fullmer (Susan), Joy Hope, Laura DeMay, April Roeser, Nyle Fullmer (Sherri), Rohn Fullmer; 39 Grandchildren; 87 Great-Grandchildren; and 38 Great-Great-Grandchildren.

Graveside service will be held on Saturday, July 14, at 11:30 a.m. at the Cache Clawson Cemetery in Tetonia. A viewing will be held Friday, July 13 at Eckersell Funeral Home in Rigby from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.eckersellfuneralhome.com