1 Jul 1882 – 19 Jul 1948
Wife of Louis Paul Cardon
A Brief History by Stanley P. Cardon
Mother was born in Salt Lake City July 1, 1892, the daughter of Anna Johanna Dorathea Wilcken and Helaman Pratt. Her mother came as a small child from Germany and her father was the son of Parley P. Pratt. When she herself was a small child, her father was called by the church authorities to do missionary work in Mexico and help to colonize it. So, from the comforts of a fine home in Salt Lake, the family was transported to the rugged hardships of real pioneer life. For many years they raised dairy cattle to make butter and cheese in the mountains near the Mormon colonies of Colonia Dublán and Juarez. Formal educational opportunities were brief and meager. Fortunately, the family had an excellent library. I remember mother saying that before she was ten, she had read most of Sir Walter Scott’s novels.
On November 11, 1903, she married Louis Paul Cardon in Colonia Dublan. They became the parents of six sons and three daughters. Although life became increasingly difficult after the Exodus from Mexico in 1912, Mother never lost her sense of humor or her drive to see that her family received the formal education she did not have.
Possessing a warm pleasing contralto voice, she was a welcome addition to any choir. One of my sweetest memories was of mother playing her guitar and singing such haunting songs as “O the moon shines tonight along the Wabash; From the field there comes the scent of new mown hay -“
Although Mother died July 19, 1948, I often meet people who had her as a Sunday School or Mutual teacher. They always say what a wonderful teacher and person she was. Two promises were made to her in her patriarchal blessing that helped and sustained her. The first was that no matter what hardships her life would have, her sleep would be restful and full of pleasant dreams. She said it was just that. The second promise was that at her table would sit leaders of the church. Although several contemporary leaders did dine at our home, Mother felt that some of the young men and women who boarded with her would become leaders, and they have. No morning or evening meal was started without family prayer.
To sum up Mother’s life, I would like to quote from Lowell L. Bennion’s book HUSBAND AND WIFE. Elder Bennion knew and appreciated mother and had this to say about her in his book.
“I once knew a woman who was the mother of handsome, bright, and wonderfully alive sons and daughters. She was left largely to her own resources in the rearing of her family. When the eldest son left their small farm to attend college in a distant city, she decided that her mission in life was to see her family educated. She followed her son to the university town, rented a large bungalow, took in four to six boarders, and sent her children to school. They worked hard, too.
For years she won a cup each spring for having the most children at the university. One year other parents tied her but she received the trophy because of the higher scholastic average that her children had achieved. One year one of her sons was cadet-colonel of the ROTC and had the highest average in the largest college at the university while working forty hours per week at a service station. Upon graduation he said of his mother, “There is nothing my mother doesn’t know.” Another son received his master’s in English that year. He said of her, “My mother knows more about English literature than I’ll ever know.”
And so this large, sturdy, and strong woman carried on her boarding house – a haven for good living and high thinking – until her youngest child was graduated from college. Then she took a bus and visited with her children’s families, now scattered from California to Michigan, came home, and died. Her work was done: her stoic, good-humored, richly human, intellectual, and spiritual life was ended and is yet revered.”
Irene Pratt Cardon
Mrs. Irene Pratt Cardon, 67, former resident of Salt Lake City, died at her home in Mesa, Ariz., Monday at 10 a.m. after a short illness.
Mrs. Cardon was born in Salt Lake City on July 1, 1882, a daughter of Helaman and Dorothy Wilken Pratt. As a child she moved with her parents to Mexico. Later she moved to Arizona where she spent most of her life. She was married to Lewis Paul Cardon in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, in 1903 and was an active worker in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Surviving are the following sons and daughters: (Mrs. Roscoe Hamblin and) Mrs. Ralph Trejo and Wilford, Stanley and Bartley Cardon, all of Arizona; Helaman Cardon, St. Louis, Mo.; Mrs. Roland Funk, Los Angeles; and Orson Cardon, New York; also the following brothers and sisters, Harold W. Pratt, Chihuahua, Mex., Emerson W. Pratt, Phoenix, Ariz.; Joseph W. Pratt, Blackfoot, Ida.; Mrs. Leah Call, Bountiful; Mrs. Amy Pratt Romney, Salt Lake City; Mrs. Verde Cardon, Los Angeles, Cal., and Mrs. Gladys Young, Boston, Mass.
Funeral Services and burial will take place in Mesa on Thursday.
-Published in the Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, Utah, Wednesday, July 21, 1948, Page 24.
MRS. IRENA P. CARDON
Mrs. Irena Pratt Cardon, 67, who lived in Tucson from 1912 until 1946, died Monday morning in Springerville, where she was visiting her daughter, Mrs. Roscoe Hamblin. For the past two years, Mrs. Cardon had made her home in Mesa.
The body will lie in state at 266 East Second avenue in Mesa from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday and funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. at the Mesa Second Ward chapel. Burial will be in a Mesa cemetery.
Mrs. Cardon was born Irena Mary Pratt on July 1, 1881, in Salt Lake City. She spent her youth and early married life in Colonial Dublan, Mexico, moving to Tucson in 1912.
Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Hamblin, Mrs. Ralph Trejo, of Tucson, and Mrs. Roland Funk, of Los Angeles; five sons, Wilford P., of Mesa; Stanley P., of Phoenix; Dr. Bartley P., of Tucson; H. P., of St. Louis; and Dr. Orson P., of New York City; 18 grandchildren, three sisters and a brother.
-Published in the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday, July 21, 1948, page 9.
Death Claims
Irena Cardon,
Once Of City
__________
Mrs. Irena Pratt Cardon, 67, an Arizona resident since 1912, died Monday morning while visiting her daughter, Mrs. Roscoe Hamblin, in Springerville. She had resided in Tucson from 1912 until 1946, when she moved to Mesa. Her Tucson address was 932 North Euclid avenue.
Mrs. Cardon was a granddaughter of Parley Pratt, one of the 12 original Mormon apostles. She was married in 1903 to Louis Paul Cardon, who preceded her in death.
Born in Salt Lake City July 1, 1881, Mrs. Cardon spent her childhood and early married life in Colonial Dublan, Chihuahua, Mex. She was active in the Church of Latter Day Saints, having been a member of the Relief society of the church. She also served on the stake board for many years.
The body will lie in state from 1 to 3 p. m. Thursday at her home in Mesa, 266 East Second avenue. Funeral services will be held at 4 p. m. Thursday in the LDS second ward chapel in Mesa, with burial following in the Mesa cemetery.
Survivors are five sons, Wilford P., of Mesa, Stanley P., of Phoenix, Dr. Bartley Cardon, Tucson, H. P. of St. Louis, and Dr. Orson P. Cardon, New Your City; three daughters, Mrs. Hamblin, Mrs. Ralph Trejo, Tucson and Mrs. Roland Funk, Los Angeles; and a brother, three sisters and 18 grandchildren.
-Published in Tucson Daily Citizen (Tucson, AZ), July 20, 1948, Page 16.
City of Mesa Cemetery, Mesa Maricopa County, Arizona
