Jeanette Faye Nielson Hooper Long
Jeanette Long was born in Yankton County, South Dakota on March 11, 1931, the first of seven children of Magnus Nielson and Lila Forman Nielson, and passed away peacefully of natural causes in Bountiful, Utah on December 28, 2024.
Jeanette’s early life was spent in farm life. Early on she showed a talent for music. One of her strongest childhood memories was remembering the moment when she realized that not everybody could name a pitch after hearing it played. She became an excellent violinist and earned her degree in Music from Yankton College.
In 1953, she bravely moved to Kellogg, Idaho to take a job as the music teacher in the local school system. Here she met her first husband, Roy Sumner Hooper, Jr. and they married on June 2, 1955. They had two sons while in Kellogg, William Roy (Bill) and Robert Stephen (Bob). In 1960 the family relocated to Brigham City, Utah when Roy took a job at the Thiokol facility there. In 1961 they welcomed a daughter, Mary Patricia, into the family. Jeanette was a stay-at-home mom for many years until the children were older when she went back to work in the Box Elder County School District as a teaching assistant. Roy passed away in 1981. Jeanette married Robert A. (Bob) Long in 1993. They travelled many places together in their retirements and had a wonderful sixteen years together. Bob passed away in 2009.
Jeanette was the organist and accompanist at Holy Cross Lutheran Church for over 45 years. She also taught piano and accompanied many young music students. She was a member of the Salt Lake Symphony for several years in the 1980s. In her later years Jeanette kept busy with her friends in Brigham City, “The Walkie Talkies,” get togethers at Old Grist Mill for coffee, and quilting with her church family at Holy Cross.
Jeanette was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands Roy and Bob, and her siblings Neal, Marilyn, Elaine, Robert, and Judy. She is survived by a brother, Paul Nielson of Yankton, SD, her children and their spouses Bill Hooper (Sharon Roper), Bob Hooper (Liz Bonderson), and Mary Pat McCurdie (Mike McCurdie), four grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank the staffs of Maple Springs Senior Living in Brigham City, Legacy House of Bountiful, and Utah Home and Hospice for their care of Jeanette. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in her name to the Cure Alzheimer Fund (www.curealz.org) or the Fighting Blindness Foundation (www.fightingblindness.org ).
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2024 at 1:00pm at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 750 E 100 South, Brigham City, Utah. Friends and family are welcome to meet one hour prior to the service at the church. There will be a live stream of Jeanette services to www.gilliesmortuary.com and click the link to Jeanette’s obituary and you may also send condolences.
Entrusted to Gillies Mortuary, Brigham City, Utah.