Cynthia Palmer Terry

1949-2025

- Cynthia Palmer Terry passed away at home surrounded by her family on June 2, 2025, after a 3-year courageous battle with ampullary cancer. A dearly loved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, she was 75.

Born July 31, 1949, in Fillmore, Utah, to Virginia Crosland Palmer and Luther William ("Bill") Palmer. Cynthia grew up in the Canyon Rim area of Salt Lake City, Utah. As a young child, she lived in Berkeley, California, while her father served in the Navy. Her earliest childhood memory is of riding the Tilden Park carousel with her sister, Claudia. As a young girl, Cynthia loved classical ballet and studied the art for several years, finishing at the University of Utah's School of Dance.

Cynthia graduated from Skyline High School, class of 1967, where she was a Sterling Scholar recipient in homemaking. She then attended Brigham Young University, where she studied clothing and textile design. The summer following her Freshman year she spent time in Paris and Milan studying design in the great Fashion Houses of Dior, Fabiani, and Pucci. She later changed her major to Homemaking Education as she thought it was a better fit for her desire to be a wife and mother.

Cynthia and Woody's love story began in 1970. Cynthia had three other marriage proposals, but none of them felt right. When Woody returned from his LDS mission to Switzerland, his sisters encouraged him to ask Cynthia for a date, and the rest is history. They married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 26, 1970, and started their life together living in the Avenues of Salt Lake City. Their first home was in Hunter, then in 1978, they moved to the Quail Hollow area of Sandy, Utah, where they raised their family - Cameron, Adrienne, Zachary, and Woodrow III - and were blessed with a wide circle of dear friends.

Around that time another love story was beginning. Cynthia's parents were building a family cabin at Brighton, which became a source of peace and joy, of meaningful family connection throughout Cynthia's lifetime, and a way to introduce her and Woody's growing family and their friends to a love of the outdoors and wildflowers, a lifelong passion of Cynthia's which has been passed along to her and Woody's children.

Cynthia's love of cooking and serving others led her to create her own small catering business, hosting craft boutiques in her home, working in the children's department at Nordstrom, and assisting the buyers in choosing clothing lines there. She gave her time generously through the PTA, civic interests, and church service, always with warmth, creativity, and a willing heart. Cynthia's legacy is one of selfless giving, gentle strength, and a life beautifully spent lifting others.

Cynthia filled her life with quiet acts of love and service. She had a gift for seeing needs and meeting them. She was a natural leader and very close to the spirit. Early in her marriage and continuing throughout her life, she was called to leadership positions within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was well known for hosting wedding showers for her young women, teaching girls to sew and cook, crocheting hundreds of baby blankets to give away, and always finding opportunities to teach and share her talents. After supporting her children on their Church missions, Cynthia missed the spirit of service in her life and sought out opportunities to minister. She took a role as a host missionary at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to help the church "welcome the world" to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. She spent 14 years of service in hosting and advanced from Hosting Missionary to Assistant Chairman to Resource Committee to Joseph Smith Memorial Building Supervisor to Assistant Director to Director of Church Building Hosting where she interviewed, trained, and led over 1,000 amazing missionaries in various buildings on Temple Square. In January 2009, while she was Assistant Director, she was called to lead the committee of hosting and accommodations for the Draper Temple open house and dedications. She helped create and prepare the reception area that welcomed over one million visitors and helped them feel the spirit of the temple. She also helped in preparing several lovely buffets for an expected 5,000 guests and miraculously ended up serving 14,000 people and always had enough food. In April 2015, after Woody's retirement, they began their next adventure together at the Heber Valley Camp. They started the first summer at the lake and then were asked to continue serving through the winter. Woody and Cynthia loved that first winter because of the relationships they developed and the way they grew. It wasn't easy plowing snow, cleaning camps, and driving 4-wheelers through snow, filled with campers' gear, but they loved it. They enjoyed the next year at the lake even more, again because of the people they served with and the way they saw the Lord's hand in all they strived to do. At the end of the second summer, they were called to be the operations managers for the camp, which meant another winter with the new team leaders. It was quite a responsibility caring for 8,600 acres and 156 missionaries. Their time there cultivated a special love for the mountains in Cynthia where she found peace and a closeness to the Spirit. Following Heber Valley Camp, they lived at the cabin in Brighton until they moved into their current home in Riverton.

Despite her many interests and distinguished church service, her greatest joy in life was her family. Cynthia made sure her family knew they were her priority. She was a present and loving guide in the lives of her children and grandchildren. She made them feel they were capable of anything. She lovingly pieced and hand-stitched a quilt for each of her grandchildren when they were born, and she has done the same for the firstborn child of each of her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren. They will be given by Woody when they are born. She was happiest attending the many sports competitions of her grandchildren as well as their choir concerts, dance performances, plays, and musicals. She was her family's biggest fan, and she loved them unconditionally and without judgment. Cynthia was mindful and detailed about everything she did and lived a wonderful life full of joy, family, service, and love. She was a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Cynthia will be missed tremendously by her family, and they are grateful to call her theirs. Cynthia is survived by her husband of 55 years, Woody; son Cameron (Heather Brookfield) and grandchildren Sarah, Anna, Peter and Colby, Clayton, Carter Brookfield; daughter Adrienne (Drew) Clarke and grandchildren Palmer (Olivia) great-grandchild Ruby, Holden (Halle), Mathis (Makenzie) and Ashton; son Zachary (Trisha) and grandchildren Adison (Brennan), Maycie (Cam), Alivia, and Beckham; son Woody III (Jessica) and grandchildren Ivie and Cicely; her loving siblings and their spouses, Woody's sisters and spouses, and much-loved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Virginia and Bill Palmer.

A special thank you to Dr. Mark J. Ott and staff at IMC, Dr. Jonathan Whisenant and staff at Utah Cancer Society at IMC, Dr. Ignacio Garrido-Laguna and staff at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Huntsman Hospice who cared deeply for Cynthia and even assisted in extending her time spent with loved ones.

There will be a viewing on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Country Park 5th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 2447 West 11400 South, South Jordan, UT 84095 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, as well as prior to the service on Saturday June 7, from 9:30-10:30 am, where all are welcome.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11:00 am at the same location, followed by a private burial for family members at the Larkin Sunset Cemetery. For those who wish to view the service via zoom, please follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83191648282