Della Mae Jolley

Della Mae Bailey Jolley, born on May 18, 1931, passed away peacefully due to natural causes on Sunday December 4, 2022. Della was born to Joseph & Lillian Bailey in very humble circumstances in Rupert, Idaho during the depression. She was the 6th of 11 children (Joseph, LaRee, Thurlow, Ardith, Barton (who died at birth), Glen and Valora. Della’s mother Lillian died when she was 9 years old and her father Joseph remarried Myrtie Chapman and 3 additional siblings were then added to the family: Leslie, Gerald & Carol.

The true love of her life, Norman Wilson Jolley, passed away in February of 2016, and after many years of waiting patiently, she is now finally able to join him. During their courtship they spent most of their time performing & teaching dance and this was one of their favorite pastimes throughout their 63 years of marriage. On the morning of her death Della was found in her bed with her hand extended out as if her husband Norman had arrived to ask her to pass through the veil and dance with him again. We are all so happy to think of Della dancing again in the arms of her eternal sweetheart.

Della leaves behind her adoring children Tresa (Wylie) Anderson, Lana Jolley, Kevin (Richelle) Jolley, Tammy (Ronnie) Newton, Steve (Michelle) Jolley, Jolene (Lyn) Yost, & Lisa Jolley; 29 Grandchildren, 23 Great grandchildren & 1 Great Great Grandchild. Still living are her siblings, Valora Bailey Evans, Leslie Bailey, Gerald Bailey, & Carol Bailey Greenwood.

Della was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and religiously listened to the Book of Mormon on her recorded tapes daily for most of her life until the day she died. She was a scriptorian and could readily quote from the scriptures throughout her daily experiences. She was a wonderful storyteller, speaker, and teacher and her skills were put to good use as a primary teacher, relief society teacher and gospel doctrine teacher for her church. Many members of the church have expressed fond memories of her as their teacher.

Della was very hard worker, which is what she needed to do to survive her modest beginnings and the life that was handed to her. In addition to working on various farms her father owned as a teen, she also worked in restaurants, grocery stores and department stores. At the young age of 18 years old, she became the Deputy Clerk for the Probate Court in Cassia County Idaho which she did for 4 years. Her early exposure to the legal profession prepared her to become very active in politics throughout her life. Some of her best friends were political activists and politicians, and she helped to run campaigns for many of them & worked to help advocate for various laws & bills. She was also a state lobbyist and wrote bills for Day Care legislation which were passed.

Della and her husband Norman later owned and operated Jolley’s Day Care & Kindergarten for almost 30 years. Many people throughout the valley have fond memories of attending Jolley’s Day Care. They later bought the retired LDS church building at 415 W Elm & thus, the beginning of The Joulet Plaza Wedding & Reception Center. They ran a very successful wedding/catering business for almost 39 years and the building was an iconic venue for multitudes of weddings and family gatherings over the years.

Della set an amazing standard of positivity, generosity, joy, love of family and faithfulness to the Lord until the last day she drew breath. It is our hope that we can, even in a small way, live up to the wonderful example Della set for us all. No matter how prepared we think we are, no matter what we think awaits us beyond, when we mortal beings see someone we love leave us, it is a struggle. We should cherish the good memories and miss the good times when a loved one dies. Sadness will be lessened as we think about the smiles and the love and laughter. In the end, those memories will make our eventual reunion that much sweeter.

There will be a public viewing on Friday December 9th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Wilks Funeral Home, 211 W. Chubbuck Road, Chubbuck, Idaho. Viewing for close friends & family will be Saturday December 10th at 10:00am. The funeral will follow at 11:00 a.m. at the Fort Hall Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building (333 South Treaty HWY US 91). Interment will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello, Idaho.

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