LuDeen Roylance Earl
On July 19, 2022, LuDeen Roylance Earl was reunited with her husband Ken, who had predeceased her in 2004.
February 22, 1926 – July 19, 2022
On July 19, 2022, LuDeen Roylance Earl was reunited with her husband Ken, who had predeceased her in 2004. She was 96-plus years old and had been living in the family home with oldest son Doug and Connie Earl at Meanwhile Back At The Ranch on Highway 17.
LuDeen was born Feb. 22, 1926 in Salem, Idaho, to George Edmond Roylance and Mable Valentine Roylance. She was the fifth of nine children. Her dairy farmer family moved to Meridian, Idaho when LuDeen was 8 and they lived in a double-car garage. They slept outside most of the year on beds and then built a shelter to sleep in when winter came. While a teenager living in Meridian, Idaho, she worked at a soda shop, cooked and cleaned for another family and worked hard to make her own way. In school she was a runner in track and was voted best female dancer and peppiest student.
When LuDeen was 18 and working in the post office, she received a letter from a young captain serving in World War II. Ken had seen a picture of Ludeen in a church publication and thus began a “wonderful correspondence” which continued until his return at the end of the war on Oct. 25, 1945. They were married in the Salt Lake City LDS temple on Nov. l6, 1945, only 22 days after they saw each other for the first time. Ken Earl took Ludeen and their first son Douglas to Washington, D.C. to obtain a law degree at George Washington University after graduating from Brigham Young University. Tami was born in Washington, D.C. during law school.
After law school, LuDeen was thrilled to move to Moses Lake and live close to her parents and a few siblings who had coincidentally decided to move from Meridian, Idaho and relocate in Moses Lake as well. Tom, Jeff, David and Pat were born in Moses Lake. When Pat was just a baby, Johnna, age 3, was added by adoption to complete the family. Ken and LuDeen were workers in establishing the Church of Jesus Christ of Lattcr-day Saints in the Basin. They were also mission presidents in Oakland, California and directors of the Idaho Falls Temple Visitor’s Center. LuDeen loved working in the Young Women’s organization of the church and serving in the Columbia River Temple.
She was elated when the announcement was made that we would have a temple in Moses Lake and that temple is being constructed in the location of the old Roylance dairy where she first came to live in Moses Lake. She served others tirelessly, taking homemade bread to neighbors and making scones for any number of visitors. She was happy to volunteer to bring dinner to someone sick or provide homemade rolls for a church dinner. Their home was an open door. Many youth lived under their roof and were cared for as her own. Around her table you could find family, friends, General Authorities, civic leaders, and total strangers enjoying a home cooked meal. LuDeen loved a good party and enjoyed playing games any time, any day, especially with family and usually accompanied by good food. Local sports fans will remember her voice over the crowd when her sons, nephews or friends were playing school sports in Moses Lake.
Family was very important to LuDeen. They were a top priority in her life. When someone was struggling, she prayed fervently for their comfort and recovery. LuDeen has 37 grandchildren and 102 great-grandchildren to date with others on the way. She welcomed each grandchild with great joy and as the number grew, she went to sleep each night reciting each one’s name, hoping to never forget them. Being 96, LuDeen had as many family and friends who awaited her arrival as she has in the family and friends she leaves behind. She has fought the good fight and has always been a faithful wife, mother, grandmother and friend.
A viewing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. July 29, 2022, at Kayser’s Chapel of Memories, 831 S. Pioneer Way, Moses Lake, Washington. The funeral will be Saturday, July 30, 2022, at 10 a.m. (viewing at 9 a.m.) at the LDS Church at 1515 S. Division St. (old Potato Hill Road where she first came to live in Moses Lake in 1953).
Please express your thoughts and memories at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser’s Chapel of Memories of Moses Lake, Washington.