- Salt Lake City, Utah-Our loving mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, Edna Bernita Tanner McCarthy Waterfall passed away April 2, 2015 surrounded by many members of her family.
She was born May 18, 1921 in Odgen, Utah, the daughter of Edna Bertha Malan and Henry Bernard Tanner. She was the oldest of eight children, having six brothers and one sister. While she was young her family moved to Salt Lake City, where she was raised in the Avenues area. She attended Bryant Junior High, East High School and the University of Utah, where she had a scholarship. She graduated from the U of U with a double major in Education and Art and a minor in Natural Sciences. When she completed her schooling she spent her first two years teaching Art and Biology at Granite High School.
Bernita married Darrow Dean McCarthy, of Oakland, California, in the Salt Lake Temple on August 4, 1944. Together, Bernita and Darrow had five children. Darrow also received his education from the University of Utah, obtaining degrees in Education Psychology. For a number of years, they both worked in education and their careers took their family to many wonderful locations from Salt Lake City and Bountiful to Altamont, Kamas, and Vernal, Utah, where Darrow worked as a counselor, principal and teacher and Bernita taught art and science. Ultimately Darrow's work took their family to the Oakland and Walnut Creek, California communities. After retirement, Bernita and Darrow had opportunities to live in Placerville, Pasadena, Los Angeles and Hemet, California. While in Placerville, they managed an LDS Church owed camp, Camp Nauvoo. While in Los Angeles, they enjoyed serving together in the LDS Los Angeles Temple. At one time, they also enjoyed working together in their own business, Ancestral Arms, where they researched surname histories and distributed them through newspaper syndications. Bernita and Darrow loved spending time with their children and grandchildren and assisting many of their posterity with home remodels and other meaningful projects.
Darrow passed away at age 70 and for the next 16 years Bernita lived in Salt Lake City, Utah where she faithfully served eight family history missions for the LDS Church at the Church History Library. There she was known for her charity, service and love.
In October, 2006 she married Gerald Malan Waterfall whose wife of 67 years had recently passed away. Together they enjoyed cruises, traveling and visiting family. They lived in Chehalis, Washington and South Jordan, Utah, where Gerald passed away in August, 2013.
She was a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, sung with the Sweet Adelines, and taught etiquette and fashion for Patricia Stevens. Bernita had many opportunities to serve as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had a strong, stalwart testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bernita is survived by brothers William Tanner and Daniel Tanner and sister Elfreda Clark; by five children: Del (Kay) McCarthy, Nora (Ron) Barlow, Lynn (Sharon) McCarthy, Arlene (Kent) Goates, and Marvin (Bonnie) McCarthy; one stepson, Stephen Waterfall; 34 grandchildren; 80 great grandchildren; and 4 great-great grandchildren. Her family was her greatest joy.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 10, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the, South Jordan Utah Parkway Stake Center, 9894 South 2700 West, South Jordan, Utah. Friends can visit with the family on Thursday evening, April 9, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 South 2300 East, and at the church on Friday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to services. Interment: Mountain View Memorial Estates, 3115 East 7800 South. [1]
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Waterfall Family History
1921 - 2015 (93 years) 
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