Moana Urry, our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 24, 2019 after a courageous seven-year battle with cancer.
Moana was born on August 25, 1960 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Keith and Pearl Scoville. She grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and she always cherished her Canadian heritage. After graduation, she left Canada to attend BYU Hawaii and to work at the Polynesian Cultural Center. A year later, she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to study Interior Design at LDS Business College. It was there that she met the love of her life, John.
Moana and John were married on October 1, 1981 in the Salt Lake Temple. John’s career as a commercial airline pilot took their young family to Arizona, which would become their home for the next thirty-three years. Together, they are the parents of six wonderful children: Allison (Vaughn) Fish, Brian (Rachelle), Adam, Eric (Rachel), Steven (Trisha), and Jefferson.
Moana’s greatest joy was found in her roles as a wife and mother. She dedicated many hours to her children’s education through time spent volunteering in their schools. She served as chauffeur and cheerleader for countless sporting events. Moana was also a night owl, and her children could always count on her to be up waiting for them when they returned home from their social activities. These were cherished moments; she was always at the crossroads in their lives. Her children felt her immense love for them, and they were constantly blessed with her abundant wisdom.
She loved to cook and entertain, and all were welcome in her home. Moana will be remembered by her children’s’ friends for her delicious milkshakes and big heart. She possessed an exceptional talent for photography, and many have been blessed with her beautiful photographs. She and John shared a love for travel and they were blessed to spend a considerable amount of time seeing their family and visiting many extraordinary places around the world. Her nine grandchildren brought her exquisite joy. She took extra care to provide special gifts and meaningful memories for each one of them. They felt her love for them and would light up in her presence.
Moana was also a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She had an incredible and lasting impact on children, youth, and adults through her kind and loving service as a Primary President, ward and stake Young Women’s President, and Relief Society President. She spent her life in the quiet service of others. She loved to study the scriptures, and they were often found open on the kitchen table along with reference guides, journals, and marking pens. She treasured her testimony. It radiated from her and influenced all she did. She had a deep and abiding love for her Savior, Jesus Christ, and you couldn’t help but feel of His love in her presence.
When she was first diagnosed with cancer, Moana chose to be optimistic. For her, that was the only option. She endured this trial with immeasurable grace, patience, and unwavering faith. She focused on the continuing simple joys, silver linings, tender mercies, and was an inspiration to all who knew her.
Moana is survived by her husband, John; her children, Allison (Vaughn) Fish, Brian (Rachelle), Eric (Rachel), Steven (Trisha), and Jefferson; her grandchildren, Kyson, Lily Moana, Andi, Tate, Kesler, Beckett, and Emery; her mother, Pearl Ofgren Scoville; her siblings, Mark (Madeleine), Garry (Heidi), Lani (Rakaipaka) Puriri, Paul, and Robert; her sisters-in-law, Linda Samuels and Lisa Martin, and her brother-in-law, Russ Urry.
She was preceded in death by her father, Keith Scoville; father-in-law, Herbert Urry; mother-in-law, Joy Urry; brother-in-law, Doug Samuels; sister-in-law, Jennifer Urry; son, Adam; and grandchildren, Tyler and Tatum.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Tempe Stake Center, 2707 South College Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85282. A visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00pm on Friday, March 1, 2019 at Bunker’s Garden Chapel, 33 North Centennial Way, Mesa, Arizona 85201, and from 10:00 to 10:30am on Saturday morning prior to the services. Interment will be at Paradise Memorial Gardens, 9300 East Shea Boulevard, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260.
If you would like to share memories of Moana that we can give to her family, kindly send them to: memoriesofmoana@gmail.com
My deepest condolences. I have the distinct pleasure of knowing her Son CDT Jefferson Urry. His character speaks volumes to her role in his life. May God grant her eternal rest and peace.
My condolences to the entire Urry family. I will always remember Moana as someone who was seemingly always in a good mood, always a smile on her face, always happy to see you. Soft spoken but in charge, always present but never seeking the spotlight. Her battle with cancer demonstrated her tremendous strength and trenacity and was an inspiration to so many. I hope her family can find the strength to remember all of the good times and memories during this most difficult of times. Sending my thoughts, prayers, and love to the entire Urry family!
Moana, was a testament to what mankind should be like. Being caring patient, and the amount of love she had for her family and others. I will always remember the kindness she gave to my family in their time of need . God bless you Moana and may you now walk amount the Angels before you. You will be sadly misses by the ones who loved you here on this earth. Our deepest condolences to your family.
Our heartfelt prayers go to our dear Urry Family! Moana was an elect lady with a kind, compassionate heart. She will deeply be missed. Her path was to follow Christ. God bless you John as you continue to walk the same path till you reunite with your beloved for all time and eternity. We love you both and pray the Lord will comfort and bless all your family at this time and hold you close!
Fly high Moana, thank you for your life of service and for providing such a beautiful example of motherhood and hospitality. You have been in our prayers all year at Bible study and we wish you great peace now.
Isaiah 55: 9-13
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, except it water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, except it accomplish that which I please, and make the thing whereto I sent it prosper.
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
My sincere condolences for your great loss. It is never easy when we lose someone we love but it is especially painful when we lose our mother. Mother’s are so special in so many ways. Please take good care of your father and of each other. May your treasured memories bring your family joy and comfort in the months and years to come. And may our Creator’s promise as found at Revelation 21:3,4 bring your family hope.
Sincerely,
Norma Peralta
Ocean and Sky – Presented at the funeral
Our father, who passed nearly three months ago, served an LDS mission in New Zealand. Consequently he picked up a few words and phrases which carried forward throughout his life. When our parents started their family he told our mother he would name the girls and she could name the boys. When they’re first daughter was born she received the name Moana. That was the name on her birth certificate. Dad often called her Te Moana Nui Aki Wa. Which means Goddess of the Ocean. When I was born I received the name Lani Nina meaning beautiful heavens.
Growing through the years, it was common for our names to be misspelled and mispronounced but we didn’t mind. We knew how important our names were to dad. As brothers will be brothers they tried to make silly nicknames out of our names which did not sit well with dad. He often sternly reprimanded and reminded them to call us by our proper names.
Just four years ago my husband, myself and our youngest son Hamilton moved to New Zealand. During my time there I have connected more deeply to moana and lani as common words used in day to day conversation. Moana is the Maori word for ocean. Lani is the Hawaiian word for sky. A year or so before dad passed I asked him, “Dad, did you know you named your daughters ocean and sky?” This came as a pleasant surprise to him.
All bodies of water flow into each other and consequently into the ocean. Doctrine and Covenants 128:23 describes the motivation which drives the flow of Mother Nature…
“Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the children of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!”
There are five oceans on the earth – the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. Oceans are enormous. The movement of the ocean joins smaller seas together. Together, the oceans are like one “ocean”, because all the “oceans” are joined.
Now I will restate that using the Maori word for ocean.
There are five moanas on the earth – the Atlantic Moana, the Indian moana the Pacific moana , the Southern Moana, and the Arctic Moana. Moanas are enormous. The movement of the moana joins smaller seas together. Together, the moanas are like one “Moana”, because all the moanas are joined together.
Moana my sister, Moana your daughter, Moana your wife, Moana your mother, Moana your friend — flowed with gladness, telling of her eternal king. The movement of our Moana, the love which illuminates from her, joins us together and unifies us as one.
Dad may not have known the inspiration he had when he named his first daughter but nonetheless there is no other name to describe our beautiful Moana.
In the coming weeks I will return to my west coast beach town of Raglan. I will stand on the beach and look to the horizon where ocean meets sky. I am forever grateful to my father who, followed what he did not realize was inspiration. As his daughters Moana and Lani we were connected in life. As his daughters, ocean and sky, we are connected in nature. From this moment forward my sister will speak through the rolling waves.
“Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas…tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!”
John, I hope this message makes its way to you. I tried to send a text to Moana today and when I did not get a timely response I asked Jessika to go online. I am heart broken. Moana was my first friend in Las Vegas and I was so lucky to have had her as a friend over the years. The fondest memories I have are of that time period when we lived in the tiny Alpine Village apartments on Brush St. I enjoyed the warm, daily conversations I had with Moana and the fun activities we took part in from going to Home Making Night to canning peaches and baking bread just to name a few. She taught me how to make spaghetti. We were young wives and mothers and learning our roles and everything that came along with that. We would leave our apartment doors open and Allison and Jessika would run in and out of each others apartments throughout the day. During the holidays it was like living in the dorms at college. Moana would knock at my door in the middle of the night asking if she could borrow glue sticks and I would knock at your apartment at 1 a.m. asking if I could borrow a cup of sugar. We didn’t have much as far as disposable income but we were content with what we had. And who can forget wiffle ball in the grassy courtyard:) I remember when you would come home from work in your uniform and I would greet you and ask where you had flown that day and your response would be, “Top secret” and I would respond casually, “Oh you went to the test site again?” Then there the times when the three of you would all go out together “to watch planes land”. I remember admiring Moana for being that supportive of her husband to the point that she was willing to do that with a toddler in tow. Moana had a gentle spirit about her and I was privileged to have known her. She was a bright spot in my day. I witnessed what a great wife and mom she was and I am sure she was a great example to many. Pete, Jessika and I enjoyed the annual holiday family updates and pictures over the years. I am upset with myself for letting life get in the way of me reaching out to Moana more frequently. I would like to keep in touch. Jessika is attempting to reach out to Allison via FaceBook. Our deepest, heartfelt condolences to you and family from Pete, Jessika and myself. We are greatly saddened and our love goes out to you and your family.