Leola May West

Leola May Perkins Elwood West, beloved sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on May 26, 2025, in Pocatello, Idaho at the age of 92.

She was born on April 26, 1933, in Freedom, Wyoming to Thomas Nathaniel Perkins and Mary Elizabeth Hinck Perkins. She loved living on the farm and working with her siblings to care for the animals. She also loved learning how to make bread under the tutelage of her mother. The family loved making music together, singing, and playing the guitar.

Leola’s three oldest brothers served in the military during WWII. The oldest, Floyd Perkins, was killed in Normandy, France when Leola was 11 years old. After the war ended her father sold the farm in Star Valley, Wyoming and bought a home in Logan, Utah where she attended Jr. High and graduated from Logan High School in 1951.

She was working at Lyman’s Cafe when she met Norman Pratt Elwood. They were married in the Logan Temple on April 22, 1953. They have seven children together.

Leola continued her personal education continually over the years. She learned how to play the piano and began to teach lessons. She loved music, singing, and wrote many songs. She learned how to make wedding cakes and made many cakes for her family and friends—including unique cakes in the shape of temples. She was a great seamstress and could make anything she put her mind to. She would work long hours into the night making sure her creations were perfect.

Leola and Norman divorced in 1986. She was a single mother for two years and she again focused on education. She became a medical assistant to support herself and the last two children at home.

In 1988 Leola became reacquainted with Donald West, the son of her neighbor, and they were married that August. They moved to Dallas, Texas. They later lived in Mesquite, Nevada and Hyde Park, Utah. After Don passed away, she moved to McCammon, Idaho in 2018 so that she could live with her daughter, Mary.

The family would like to give special thanks to the caregivers of Elegant Assisted Living in Pocatello, Idaho where Leola moved in August of 2023. Also, special thanks to the workers of Symbii Hospice.

She is preceded in death by her parents, ten siblings, both husbands, and one child—Thomas Dee Elwood.

Leola is survived by Marni (Paul) Kaplan, James (Tamara) Elwood, Wayne (Elese) Elwood, Ellen (Cliff) Harris, Mary (Ray) Babcock, Allan (Lori) Elwood, 24 grandchildren, and 36 1/2 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held on Friday, June 6, 2025 at 11:00 am. 200 S. 100 E., Smithfield, Utah. Viewing before the service from 10:00-10:45 am

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