SALT LAKE CITY - Funeral services were held Thursday for Frances Monson, wife of LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson.
Hundreds of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints waited outside Temple Square to pay their respects and learn more about the life of Frances Monson. Her daughter said she'll be remembered as a wonderful mother. In the Church she was beloved by the millions of members.
Family and friends say she was the quiet strength behind her husband.
"President Monson would say she was quiet by nature, but when she talked she had something to say. She was forthright and determined, she loved life, had many friends and served in unheralded ways," said President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Many of those who attended the funeral service didn't know Sister Monson, but they say they felt like they did because they had seen her in church magazines and beside her husband at General Conference.
"All of the memories and the service that he and Sister Monson have offered in that 50 years is remarkable and very inspiring," said Adele Parker, an LDS Church member.
Frances Monson's family says she never complained about the demands placed on her husband to travel and work for the Church. They said she was the one who always packed his bag.
"President Monson once said of his wife, 'I could not have asked for a more loving, loyal, and understanding companion.' Whenever he spoke about the miraculous strength of wives and mothers, I knew he was thinking of his sweet eternal companion, Frances," said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Monson and his wife were married for 64 years. She died May 17 from natural causes at 85 years old. She leaves behind three children and many grandchildren.
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