Ellen Mae Bird

Ellen Mae Sudweeks Bird passed away at the age of 92 at the South Lincoln Medical Center in Kemmerer, Wyoming on November 05, 2025. She was born August 30, 1933, in Moroni, Utah to Orus Sudweeks and Hazel Ione Rostron Sudweeks from Nephi, Utah. She married her high school sweetheart, David Charles Bird on June 25, 1952, in Nephi, Utah and they had three children, Valery, Michael and Mark. Later in life when her children were still young, she attended BYU and received her elementary education degree and spent 27 years teaching kindergarten at the Moroni Utah grade school. Ellen was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Ellen spent the last eight years of her life in the South Lincoln Medical Center where she was blessed with extra special care. Even though she didn’t remember it for long, she enjoyed the special visits from her many family members and friends. Ellen enjoyed watching the little birds as they frequented the bird feeder just outside of her window. She would often say, “Those are lucky little birds, because we spoil them. But it is OK to be spoiled.”

For Ellen, dementia was a curse and a blessing. It robbed her of the ability to fully recover after a devastating fall in October of 2017; yet it was a blessing because she couldn’t remember how long she had to bear that burden. Thankfully it didn’t rob her of her long-term memory as she would retell many memorable experiences from her past, always reminding us that “Those were the good old days.”

Yes Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Wife, Sister, Daughter, those were truly the “Good Old Days”, and we thank you for making them possible. You will be greatly missed but will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Ellen was proceeded in death by her husband, David C Bird, her parents, Hazel and Orus Sudweeks, sisters Doris Gibson, Nona Badham, and her brother Kent Sudweeks. She is survived by her younger sister Loy (Jim) Mogensen, her children Valery (Roger) Burnett, Michael (Linda) Bird and Mark (Lynda) Bird, 19 grandchildren and 56 great grandchildren whom she loved very much, with one more on the way!

There will be a family viewing for Ellen’s family and close friends from 12-12:45 pm followed by a memorial service from 1-2:00 pm on November 14, 2025, at the Ball Family Chapel in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Interment will follow on November 15 at 12:00 pm at the Vine Bluff Cemetery located at 1240 North 400 East in Nephi, Utah.