Tears

I really do not have much time for the newspaper, newspapers bore me or rather I don’t have the patience to read the paper front to back but not Dianne she reads everything and fills me in on things she feels I might be interested. So I intrigued this weekend when she directed my attention to an article regarding a local LDS missionary who dropped dead in England a few days ago. I recognized the last name of the missionary of a family I knew from my childhood days. Spjute, that name and spelling is fairly rare and so I researched the young missionary a bit closer and sure enough she was the daughter of my old friend Mark Spjute. What a shame what a beautiful daughter. Then I do some Googling and I realize this friend is actually living in the Salt Lake County what a shock. He is a CFO of a major company in the area. He is universes from me and my life style. But I signed the book on line on the obituary page of the Deseret News. I left my email and who knows. I’ll give him some time and see what happens and if I don’t hear back from him maybe I call in a couple of months and see how he is doing and see if he wants to get together or something.

“Vignette V6 Mon May 19 07:45:14 2008

LDS missionary dies in England

By Aaron Falk
Deseret News

A Farmington woman collapsed while jogging and died Saturday near Birmingham, England, where she was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sister Lindsey Spjute, 23, "loved life as she loved people and had a work ethic that didn't quit," said Richard McKenna, Spjute's LDS stake president in Farmington. "She was an incredibly fun-loving, energetic person. This young lady had a depth of character that goes far beyond her age."

An autopsy could not determine the cause of death, according to a statement from the LDS Church. Spjute's family was grieving but remained strong even through the uncertainty surrounding the woman's death, McKenna said.

"Clearly they're mourning her loss," McKenna said. "They recognize the emptiness and the loneliness and the concern. But they're also solid in their belief that there is life after this life."

Just hours after her death, Spjute's family received a call from the woman's mission president in England. He called Spjute "the perfect missionary," McKenna said.

"They could not identify the cause of death, but the family is at peace with that," he said. "They believe God's hand was involved in this. She extended her mission."

Spjute attended Brigham Young University-Idaho and later Utah State University, where she planned to complete her schooling in special education when she returned from her mission.

"She was well into her schooling when she decided she had to go on her mission," McKenna said. "The family takes great comfort in that. She was doing exactly what she wanted to do, exactly what she knew she needed to be doing." “

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E-mail: afalk@desnews.com