Elinor Anna South

Elinor Ann Moss South, born April 14, 1941, in Bountiful, Utah, passed away on June 24, 2026, at the age of 85 from causes incident to age.

Born to Belle Emma Camomile and Edward Hugh Moss Jr., Elinor entered the world when her mother was 38 years old and her father was 53 years old. She grew up very, very poor. She grew up with an older brother, Eddie, a younger sister, Joyce, and six stepsiblings. Her father was a farmer of orchards and other things, he also worked at and industrial plant. Her mother was a homemaker. Tragically, Edward died when Elinor was just 7 years old. Her mother was left in poverty to raise the young children and struggled with mental illness while Elinor was young. As a result, Elinor lived in and out of several foster homes until, as a teenager, she went to live with Ethel and Del Hayes of Bountiful, Utah.

The move changed her life forever. Ethel would tell the story of when Mom showed up to live with them, she had everything she owned in a brown paper grocery bag. Ethel and Del treated Elinor as family and supported her as family for the rest of their lives. They became Grandma and Grandpa to Elinor and Barry's children, and Elinor gained another family. Ethel and Del's children became Mom's lifelong foster brothers and sisters: Mike, Wally, Sally, and Dianne. Her best friends, Edith and Ester, from her childhood remained friends throughout their entire lives. Each of Elinor's children could recite many of her childhood memories with Edith and Ester.

Ethel and Del were both very active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their devotion to the gospel was not lost on Mom. It became a lifelong devotion and guiding light in her life as well. She learned to love going to church. She attended every week throughout her entire life and taught her children to do the same. Mom had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. It was unwavering. "He lives," she would say matter-of-factly. She was bold in telling anyone about her love of the gospel and of Jesus Christ.

With the help of Ethel and Del and an inheritance from her father, she was able to attend BYU in Provo. After a time at school, she decided to serve a mission for the Church. She faithfully served in the Brazil Mission from 1962 to 1964. This, too, would change her life. Through her mission, her testimony of Jesus Christ continued to grow, and she learned she could do very hard things. She developed a deep love for the gospel and for all of God's children.

Elinor loved Brazil so much that she continued to study Portuguese and spoke it well later in life. Well into her seventies, she loved doing Duolingo on her phone and maintained a streak of more than three years without missing a day. She taught all of her children Portuguese songs and sayings.

She first met Barry South at a ward Family Home Evening activity. She had a premonition at first sight that she would marry Barry, and two years later, in 1967, she did.

After her mission, she returned to BYU and graduated with a master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 1970.

Barry and Elinor started their life together living in Island Park, Idaho, near Yellowstone at the KOA trailer park. Mom loved Island Park. She loved living there. She loved all of Dad's family history associated with Island Park. Barry and Elinor started one of their many entrepreneurial ventures there—a boys' camp. Their oldest son, Jason, was born there. The family loved spending weekends in Island Park, where they fished in Split Creek and played in the water.

The little family soon moved to Shelley, Idaho, where they started another entrepreneurial venture with David and Judy South and Randy and Karen South. Souths Inc. was born, which would later become Dome Technology. They lived in Shelley for ten years, where they welcomed three more children: Dan, Rachel, and Dianna.

What started as an insulation business became a construction company that built concrete domes for many types of uses all over the United States and eventually throughout the world. Mom and Dad worked together building their business while raising their family. They worked together, and they played together.

In 1981, their last son, Rodney, was born, and the family moved to Menan, Idaho. They chose to build their home on top of Menan Butte. Marj South, her mother-in-law, owned the land. There were no roads to the top of the butte. No wells. No electricity. No neighbors. It all had to be built, and Mom and Dad both knew how to do hard things.

The Butte became home for the rest of her life. Mom loved the top of the butte. She loved the view, the rocks, and all of the junipers and wild flowers. For many years she walked around the rim of the butte every day, rain or shine. In her poem, Top of the Butte, these daily walks and her deep love for that special place shine through. Elinor also loved walking with her dear Menan friends along the Menan Greenbelt and at the Stake Center. Those were beloved times filled with meaningful conversations.

Dad's work required long periods away from home. Sometimes Mom and Dad packed up their family of five and moved wherever Dad's work took them for months at a time. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, they lived in Petersburg, Nebraska; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wagner, Oklahoma, in 1982; and other places.

Mom homeschooled the children while Dad attended to his work. The family purchased a Dodge 15-passenger van with a full bed in the back and a large bench seat (homemade of course). No seat belts. No air conditioning. The family traveled the United States in that van while supporting Dad's work. When it finally died, it had more than 300,000 miles.

Mom's world was her children, and what a wonderful mother she was. Dad's work often required him to be away from home. Mom took on all the responsibilities of both motherhood and fatherhood. Later, when Dad's work took him internationally, she traveled with him to see the world: France, England, Germany, South America, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and back to her beloved Brazil.

In 1999, Dad was awarded a job in Hawaii, and the whole family was able to visit. Mom fell in love with Hawaii and talked about it often afterward. She was able to return again with her sister Sally. One of her favorite photographs, which still hangs in her home, showed her sitting in an Adirondack chair on the beach watching the sunrise in Hawaii. She simply loved it.

Mom always made sure the refrigerator and freezer were packed with goodies: Yoplait yogurt, cheese sticks, juice, pudding, Jell-O, popsicles, ice cream, and Fat Boys. She also loved Diet Coke.

When her children were little, her sister Joyce ran a video rental store, and Mom thought it was amazing to be able to rent movies from her. Mom loved movies—especially the classics and musicals. She collected many classic films for the family to watch. She loved Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Jane Fonda, Yul Brynner in The King and I, John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man, Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Barefoot in the Park, and Oklahoma!. We watched them over and over again with her.

When you were sick, Mom was the best. Many of her children learned to play sick just to take advantage of her loving care. She knew all the best remedies: chicken noodle soup (the best kind), hot and cold packs, hot water bottles, heating pads, vaporizers, menthol rubs, fresh sheets, cool pillows, television, movies, and, best of all, time spent with her.

Mom was quite the orator. She loved Midway Elementary School's Woodman Speech Oration Contest, and nearly all of her children won it. (The only year they didn't win was the year she hadn't heard about it yet.) She loved helping them use their voices expressively, along with hand gestures and body movements. Because she was an orator herself, she loved to be expressive. If you knew her later in life, when she said "yyyeeeessss," it was with great fanfare. You had to hear it to appreciate it. She also loved saying, "That's cool!" about nearly everything. She was an incredibly positive and happy person.

Not only was she an amazing mother, Elinor was also a professional. For a short time she taught third grade. Later, she worked full-time for the Jefferson County School District as a speech-language pathologist. She retired in 2000 after helping hundreds of children overcome speech challenges throughout her career.

Mom served in nearly every calling in the Church: Relief Society president, Young Women president, Stake Young Women president, visiting teacher, Primary teacher, and Sunday School teacher. Mom and Dad also served for years as ordinance workers in the temple.

Mom loved poetry and authored several poems. Top of the Butte is a family favorite. She memorized many poems and often recited them to her children. "How dreary to be somebody" was one of her favorites. Charles Dickens was another favorite. Elinor taught herself how to create books using Shutterfly and made many books documenting her family, their experiences, and her poetry.

Mom loved music. Each of her children learned to play the piano, along with several other instruments. Although she never received formal piano lessons, she taught herself to play several of her favorite songs. She especially loved playing "The Entertainer," the theme from The Sting. When her children were young, she played it over and over again.

Mom enjoyed technology. She loved her iPhone and taught herself how to use email, Facebook, texting, emojis, and photos. She also enjoyed completing family history projects, especially online indexing, and became exceptionally good at it.

In 2010, Mom and Dad served a proselytizing mission in Rochester, New York. They both loved their mission. While there, she taught many people the gospel, served those in need, and once again strengthened her testimony. The entire family was able to visit and experience some of the Church history sites, including the Sacred Grove and the Smith Farm.

There is so much to say about our mother. Mothers are so very special.

Mom...our Mom...was special.

Mom was simply a wonderful human being.

We love you, Mom.

God be with you till we meet again.

Elinor is survived by her husband, Barry South; her children, Jason South (Jennifer) of Menan, Idaho; Dan South (Margo) of Menan, Idaho; Rachel Thompson (Lance) of Syracuse, Utah; Dianna Poston (Jason) of Rigby, Idaho; and Rodney South (Kylene) of Milo, Idaho; 25 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; and many other loved ones. She was preceded in death by her older brother, Eddie, her Mother and Father, Ethyle and Del, Sally, and Dianne.

A funeral service will be held Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 11:00 am in the Menan Stake Center, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (698 North 3600 East, Menan, ID) The family will meet with friends prior to the service from 9:30 to 10:45 am at the church. Interment will be in the Annis Little Butte Cemetery.