1936
Margaret
2024
Margaret Gatehouse
March 5, 1936 — May 8, 2024
Hurricane, UT
Margaret Joyce Urry Gatehouse, 88, set out on a new journey in the wee hours of the night on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, while sleeping peacefully at the home of her daughter in Hurricane, Utah. She was born March 5, 1936 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Clifford Septimus Urry and LaVon Vivian Gustaveson. She married Ronald Walter Gatehouse on April 23, 1956, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Grandma Tiger”, as she was called by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, enjoyed her childhood with her father, mother and older sister Patricia living back and forth between Utah and California. She loved music from a young age and had a great talent for acting and projecting her emotions on stage and in real life. She was very proud to have been able to be a part of the parties at her uncle’s house in California at a young age and loved getting gifts from guests as they congregated there. Even though she was confined to bed with nephritis for long periods a few times in her life, she always maintained a positive attitude amplified by her urge to survive that she has passed on to her progeny.
She aspired to be an actress and told us quite often about the time she was offered a contract at a movie studio in California as a child, but her father refused to pay the fee the agent required and took her home. She never gave up on that dream and grasped every chance she had to act. Her heart was pure gold and she wanted to share all she had with others, not only her talents, but anything she possessed.
After some years the family of four moved to Cedar City where they became a family of five when her brother Doug was born. She adored him his whole life and ever since, Cedar City has always had special significance for her.
She was very proud to have been a member of the first graduating class at Olympus High School and was in several stage productions. Her favorite was ‘The Fortune Teller’. She graduated from Olympus High School and the CES seminary program in 1954. She was awarded a scholarship to Brigham Young University where she lived in the dormitory for one academic year, while completing some basic courses before returning to her parents’ home in May of 1955 to pursue other dreams.
Although Mom had been in the same graduating class as Dad at Olympus High, she didn’t know him until one summer day in 1955 when out of the blue she got a phone call from him asking her out. She said “Yes” and that wasn’t the last time. When he came to pick her up and she saw how handsome he was as he drove up in a pink and black convertible it was a done deal. They went out to the Great Salt Lake for a church activity. When he asked her to marry him on her sister’s wedding day she said “Yes” again and they were officially engaged. She kept from announcing the engagement until after the wedding so as not to distract from her sister’s special day. They were married in April 1956 and had their marriage solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple on their eighth wedding anniversary.
Margaret and Ronald set up their first home in a small cottage in Millcreek, Utah, and then in MacAffee’s basement in Salt Lake City while they saved to buy their first home on Larkspur Circle in Sandy in 1961. They moved to their second home, which was built by Ronald’s brother’s company, Gatehouse Construction, in 1978.
Mom loved combining being a modern career woman with housewife duties. She was a great multi-tasker, very organized and thrived while keeping her home neat and her mind active with work. She would tirelessly sort through drawers and boxes to clean up clutter. Her desk was always meticulous. She washed, line dried and ironed all of the clothes and linens. She made delicious bread and cloverleaf rolls, parsley potatoes, pot roast and lemon meringue pie. Her breakfasts were the best, scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes, French toast and Cream of Wheat.
Before she was married, she worked at Woolworth’s, the banquet center at the University of Utah, and Universal CIT. She continued working at Universal CIT for twelve years after she was married, only taking time off for maternity leave or when she was ill. She set the bar very high for her daughters. She also juggled many seasonal and part time jobs, such as, working in restaurants, a supermarket bakery, a doctor’s office receptionist, special education teacher’s aide, a cook at Trefoil Girl Scout Camp, McDonald’s cashier, teaching Storytelling at a university in Japan, and her last part time job at Hallmark, with her duties as a mother and homemaker as well as a plethora of volunteer activities she was involved in for her girls and the community; Girl Scout Leader, Primary teacher for the Blazer class, PTA President at Alta View Elementary and Mount Jordan Junior High, Chorister for the Girl Scout Singing Christmas tree performance at Cottonwood Mall in Holladay in the 60s, Girl Scout Choir chorister in the 70s, while not neglecting the activities that allowed her to share her love and talent of singing with others; Annie Oakley in the Road Show, church choirs, Schubert Singers, writing and directing plays for various organizations, to name a few.
The family moved to Saint George, Utah in January 1981 to escape the harsh climate in Salt Lake. She had secured a job at Dixie Medical Center in the Business Office after working for about five years in Cottonwood Hospital’s Business Office.
They lived in a few different locations in St. George, before settling in Color View Townhomes, just off Dixie Downs Road. She made a cozy home filled with song and an atmosphere of love, where anyone was welcomed with open arms. She was very active in the theater community and on the activity committee at the hospital. She was also a member of the Southwest Chorale and especially enjoyed the Halloween concert, “Spooktacular” they performed every year. She was called to many positions in church and loved attending the meetings with family and friends. Sundays were always very special days with Mom. Many happy memories were made in their home there as Mom and Dad lived in Color View for almost 33 years.
In 1983 Mom’s dream to be in the movies finally came true as she was chosen to be an extra in two made-for-television movies: Ghost Dancing, starring Dorothy McGuire and Grandma Tiger, and A Killer in the Family, starring Robert Mitchum, James Spader and Grandma Tiger. (Robert Mitchum taught Grandma Tiger how to wink and click her tongue.)
After retiring from IHC she decided to go back to school at Dixie State College to finish the degree she began in 1954. She especially loved studying the geographical land formations in Dixie and loved to share her knowledge of the geography while driving to Pine Valley or Snow Canyon. She loved looking at the night sky. The moon and the stars were her guides. She completed her Associate of Science in 1993 and after that went back to Cedar City where, in 1994, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Arts at SUU.
She loved to travel and journeyed fearlessly to destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia, Japan and many more.
She is preceded in death by her husband (Ronald Walter Gatehouse); father (Clifford Septimus Urry); mother (LaVon Vivian Gustaveson); step-fathers (James G. Johnson, Jack Warren); older sister (Patricia LaVon Ewing); younger brother (Douglas Clifford Urry)
Margaret is survived by her five daughters, BobbieLee (Yoshinori) Kosuge of Santa Clara, Utah, KarenKay (Boyd) Hunter of Enoch, Utah, JulieAnn (Jon) Gledhill, RondaLyn (Larry) Gentry, MaryJo (Robert) Watson, all of Hurricane, Utah; 22 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Friends may call Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. at Coral Canyon Chapel 1950 Coral Canyon Blvd., Washington, Utah. Funeral Services will be held from 12:00 noon.
Interment will be at Tonaquint Cemetery 1777 S. Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah
Arrangements are made under the direction of Hughes Mortuary, 1037 East 700 S. St. George, Utah, (435) 674-5000.
“Grandma Tiger”, as she was called by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, enjoyed her childhood with her father, mother and older sister Patricia living back and forth between Utah and California. She loved music from a young age and had a great talent for acting and projecting her emotions on stage and in real life. She was very proud to have been able to be a part of the parties at her uncle’s house in California at a young age and loved getting gifts from guests as they congregated there. Even though she was confined to bed with nephritis for long periods a few times in her life, she always maintained a positive attitude amplified by her urge to survive that she has passed on to her progeny.
She aspired to be an actress and told us quite often about the time she was offered a contract at a movie studio in California as a child, but her father refused to pay the fee the agent required and took her home. She never gave up on that dream and grasped every chance she had to act. Her heart was pure gold and she wanted to share all she had with others, not only her talents, but anything she possessed.
After some years the family of four moved to Cedar City where they became a family of five when her brother Doug was born. She adored him his whole life and ever since, Cedar City has always had special significance for her.
She was very proud to have been a member of the first graduating class at Olympus High School and was in several stage productions. Her favorite was ‘The Fortune Teller’. She graduated from Olympus High School and the CES seminary program in 1954. She was awarded a scholarship to Brigham Young University where she lived in the dormitory for one academic year, while completing some basic courses before returning to her parents’ home in May of 1955 to pursue other dreams.
Although Mom had been in the same graduating class as Dad at Olympus High, she didn’t know him until one summer day in 1955 when out of the blue she got a phone call from him asking her out. She said “Yes” and that wasn’t the last time. When he came to pick her up and she saw how handsome he was as he drove up in a pink and black convertible it was a done deal. They went out to the Great Salt Lake for a church activity. When he asked her to marry him on her sister’s wedding day she said “Yes” again and they were officially engaged. She kept from announcing the engagement until after the wedding so as not to distract from her sister’s special day. They were married in April 1956 and had their marriage solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple on their eighth wedding anniversary.
Margaret and Ronald set up their first home in a small cottage in Millcreek, Utah, and then in MacAffee’s basement in Salt Lake City while they saved to buy their first home on Larkspur Circle in Sandy in 1961. They moved to their second home, which was built by Ronald’s brother’s company, Gatehouse Construction, in 1978.
Mom loved combining being a modern career woman with housewife duties. She was a great multi-tasker, very organized and thrived while keeping her home neat and her mind active with work. She would tirelessly sort through drawers and boxes to clean up clutter. Her desk was always meticulous. She washed, line dried and ironed all of the clothes and linens. She made delicious bread and cloverleaf rolls, parsley potatoes, pot roast and lemon meringue pie. Her breakfasts were the best, scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes, French toast and Cream of Wheat.
Before she was married, she worked at Woolworth’s, the banquet center at the University of Utah, and Universal CIT. She continued working at Universal CIT for twelve years after she was married, only taking time off for maternity leave or when she was ill. She set the bar very high for her daughters. She also juggled many seasonal and part time jobs, such as, working in restaurants, a supermarket bakery, a doctor’s office receptionist, special education teacher’s aide, a cook at Trefoil Girl Scout Camp, McDonald’s cashier, teaching Storytelling at a university in Japan, and her last part time job at Hallmark, with her duties as a mother and homemaker as well as a plethora of volunteer activities she was involved in for her girls and the community; Girl Scout Leader, Primary teacher for the Blazer class, PTA President at Alta View Elementary and Mount Jordan Junior High, Chorister for the Girl Scout Singing Christmas tree performance at Cottonwood Mall in Holladay in the 60s, Girl Scout Choir chorister in the 70s, while not neglecting the activities that allowed her to share her love and talent of singing with others; Annie Oakley in the Road Show, church choirs, Schubert Singers, writing and directing plays for various organizations, to name a few.
The family moved to Saint George, Utah in January 1981 to escape the harsh climate in Salt Lake. She had secured a job at Dixie Medical Center in the Business Office after working for about five years in Cottonwood Hospital’s Business Office.
They lived in a few different locations in St. George, before settling in Color View Townhomes, just off Dixie Downs Road. She made a cozy home filled with song and an atmosphere of love, where anyone was welcomed with open arms. She was very active in the theater community and on the activity committee at the hospital. She was also a member of the Southwest Chorale and especially enjoyed the Halloween concert, “Spooktacular” they performed every year. She was called to many positions in church and loved attending the meetings with family and friends. Sundays were always very special days with Mom. Many happy memories were made in their home there as Mom and Dad lived in Color View for almost 33 years.
In 1983 Mom’s dream to be in the movies finally came true as she was chosen to be an extra in two made-for-television movies: Ghost Dancing, starring Dorothy McGuire and Grandma Tiger, and A Killer in the Family, starring Robert Mitchum, James Spader and Grandma Tiger. (Robert Mitchum taught Grandma Tiger how to wink and click her tongue.)
After retiring from IHC she decided to go back to school at Dixie State College to finish the degree she began in 1954. She especially loved studying the geographical land formations in Dixie and loved to share her knowledge of the geography while driving to Pine Valley or Snow Canyon. She loved looking at the night sky. The moon and the stars were her guides. She completed her Associate of Science in 1993 and after that went back to Cedar City where, in 1994, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Arts at SUU.
She loved to travel and journeyed fearlessly to destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia, Japan and many more.
She is preceded in death by her husband (Ronald Walter Gatehouse); father (Clifford Septimus Urry); mother (LaVon Vivian Gustaveson); step-fathers (James G. Johnson, Jack Warren); older sister (Patricia LaVon Ewing); younger brother (Douglas Clifford Urry)
Margaret is survived by her five daughters, BobbieLee (Yoshinori) Kosuge of Santa Clara, Utah, KarenKay (Boyd) Hunter of Enoch, Utah, JulieAnn (Jon) Gledhill, RondaLyn (Larry) Gentry, MaryJo (Robert) Watson, all of Hurricane, Utah; 22 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Friends may call Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. at Coral Canyon Chapel 1950 Coral Canyon Blvd., Washington, Utah. Funeral Services will be held from 12:00 noon.
Interment will be at Tonaquint Cemetery 1777 S. Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah
Arrangements are made under the direction of Hughes Mortuary, 1037 East 700 S. St. George, Utah, (435) 674-5000.
To send flowers to the family in memory of Margaret Gatehouse, please visit our flower store.
Service Schedule
Past Services
Viewing
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
11:00 - 11:45 am (Mountain time)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Funeral Service
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
12:00 - 1:00 pm (Mountain time)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Interment
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Starts at 1:30 pm (Mountain time)
Tonaquint Cemetery
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