In the pre-dawn hours of March 14, 2019, Dixie Groneman, 87, our sweet mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, sister, neighbor, and friend, joined her eternal sweetheart and companion, Paul, in Paradise as he came calling and took her home on their 45th wedding anniversary. After suffering with a progressive form of dementia for the past two years, she was ready to go.
Mom was born October 16, 1931 in Orem, Utah, to George Washington and Daphne Roberts Loveless in a little white house that sat on her parents’ farm, on what was then called the Orem Bench. She was the 12th of 13 children, and she leaves with only one remaining out of the “baker’s dozen,” her younger sister, Fae.
Mom grew up in the Provo/Orem area, attended local schools and graduated from Provo High School, after which she furthered her education at BYU. She met and married our dad, Grant Mildenhall, in September of 1951 as a result of her social networking in high school. Mom later became a loving and devoted mother to the 5 children they raised together. They later divorced.
Mom married Dr. Paul S. Groneman−after a beautiful courtship−in Spanish Fork, Utah at the old Oak Crest Inn on March 14, 1974. They were later sealed to one another for time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Paul had purchased a beautiful home for the two of them to begin their new lives together, in the lower Oak Hills area of Provo right next to the BYU campus, and had it ready for Mom to move into with him once they were married. This began their love story, which is one for the record books, and mimics that of Romeo and Juliet. Paul treated Mom like a queen, as she so deserved. To see the two of them embrace and hold one another, and show love and respect for one another was one of the most heart-warming displays of togetherness we had ever experienced as their children.
Together they traveled the world, and their bond of love and devotion to one another became an example to the world. Both held the unfamiliar roles of being a parent to an entirely new family and someone else’s children, requiring a character upgrade and attitude adjustment enabling them to love unconditionally the other’s children and family without grudge or displayed favoritism. Both Mom and Paul, after assuming this new expectation masterfully, felt and showed a love for each other’s children and family that was story-book worthy, and that love never faltered. It radiated to and was absorbed by their children and grandchildren, and they became stellar examples to everyone they knew or came in contact with. Love became the primary language spoken in their home, and love and respect for our new dad for the way he treated our mom came naturally. We will as a family always be grateful to him for the beautiful life he provided for our mom. He died March 9, 2001, leaving her with a heart so broken that we wondered if she would ever heal from it, but the love and commitment to her kids and grandkids kept her strong and focused for the next 18 years, until the deterioration of her cognitive abilities became too much for her frail little body to manage. Mom was always such a stalwart, dignified woman who was gentle as a kitten, yet strong as a bull when the situation required it. As the rock and compass for her children, she will be missed beyond words.
Mom is survived by her children, Bryan Mildenhall, Taylorsville; McKay (Jill) Mildenhall, Seattle, WA; Annalee Rowley, Taylorsville; Greg Mildenhall, Sandy; her only remaining sister, Fae (Dean) Stevenson, Bountiful; 12 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews, and her cockatiel, GiGi. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Paul; a son, Rodd; a grandson, Drew; her cockatiel, Sassy, and her little dog, Molly.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, March 23, 2019 at the Berg Drawing Room Chapel, 185 East Center Street, Provo, Utah. A viewing will be held from 9:30-10:50 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Provo City Cemetery; where she will be laid to rest beside her beloved eternal companion, Paul. Condolences may be expressed at
www.bergmortuary.com.
We, her family, wish to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the caregivers and staff of Legacy House of Taylorsville and Inspiration Hospice for their compassion, their professionalism, and for the loving care and treatment they provided for our mom over the past 2 years; allowing her to live her final days with the dignity and respect that she deserved. We also want to acknowledge and thank the many neighbors and friends she made while living in her home at Legacy Village and the Westbrook 7th Ward. All of you will never be forgotten; you truly made a difference in her life and added to the joy she felt in being your friend and neighbor.
