Linda Yardley

Mary Linda Rollins Yardley, known as “Ducky,” 79, passed away on February 26, 2025, surrounded by her loving family in Beaver, Utah. Linda was born on March 29, 1945, in Cedar City, Utah, to Carmen A. “Bill” and Mala Macfarlane Rollins.

Growing up in Parowan, Utah, she often said she had an amazing childhood and enjoyed spending quality time with her grandparents, playing with her lifelong friends and sisters, learning how to cook and sew with her mom, going on fishing and hunting trips with her dad, and causing mischief with her cousins, especially when Dan and Don A. were in town.

Mom attended Parowan Elementary and Parowan High School. She was very active in school plays, sang in the choir, was a cheerleader, participated on dance teams, and was involved in several other clubs in which she excelled.

After graduating in 1963, Linda took off to work on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where she spent some of the best days of her life. Upon returning home, she began working at a sewing factory in Beaver. It wasn’t long before her life changed forever when a handsome young return missionary looked her up and asked her out on a date. She knew the moment she saw him that he was the love of her life. On their fourth date, he proposed, and she said yes.

On April 18, 1964, Linda married Rowland Yardley in the St. George, Utah, temple; they were sealed for time and all eternity. Together, they had four children and created a life only read about in fairy tales.

Linda had a great love of writing and wrote beautiful poems. She also enjoyed sewing, cooking, and making things with her hands. Ducky had a passion for music, and she could listen for hours. There was always a good tune playing on her stereo, or she would be playing a melody on her piano. She was a gifted pianist and could play the piano by ear.

Mom loved to dance. She was a professional shimmier and taught her daughters, granddaughters, and any other females who dared to learn The Shimmy. She knew all the dance moves, including the jitterbug, western swing, and two-step, just to name a few. She was even televised dancing The Charleston with some of her friends when she was a teenager. She had a passion for dancing, and Rowland was her perfect partner. When they danced, people would stop to watch them tear up the dance floor, and they passed their talent and love for dancing on to each one of their kids. Many nights, you could hear music echoing from our living room and see the shadows of the entire family dancing through the big window.

She was a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many callings, her favorite being a Sunday school teacher. She loved sharing the gospel with the teenage members of the ward alongside Rowland.

Hunting camp was a vacation that we all looked forward to; it was the highlight of our year spent with family and good friends. Mom always made it an adventure. We were all decked out in orange, with BB guns and .22s strapped to our shoulders, warm beds in either our camper or big army tent, early mornings and evenings looking for a big one, days filled with card games, campfire stories, exploring new country, target practice, riding horses, and enjoying evenings with Mom’s famous Dutch oven peach cobbler.

Hard work was something Mom took pride in. She worked at Elk Meadows Ski Resort for several years, and with her magnetic personality, her coworkers instantly became friends. She was also a substitute teacher at Belknap Elementary and cared deeply for each student she had the privilege of teaching. Later, she obtained a position working for Sherm and Eileen Hinkley at their souvenir shop at Cove Fort. Mom developed an instant bond with the missionaries. She and Sister Hinkley were lifelong friends. During the summer months, you’d find her in the swather, cutting the straightest lines you’ve ever seen. She was incredibly proud of the farm and construction business that she and Rowland created, and she worked alongside him whenever possible.

The most important and cherished role that Linda embraced was being a wife, mom, and Granny Ducky. Her life revolved around her family. She was present and whistled the loudest at every activity or sporting event her kids and grandkids were involved in. She was a shoulder to cry on, a source of advice, or a swift kick in the pants when needed. She was the perfect blueprint of what a wife and mother should be: honest, caring, strong, and gentle. She set a great example of how to be a devoted wife and was a pillar of how to love and live.

Linda is survived by her children Danny (Michelle) Yardley, Malissa (Ryan) Anderson, Marci (Brady) Webster, and Travis Yardley (Jaden Coates), along with nineteen grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and one great-grandson on the way. She is also survived by her brother-in-law Ray Alan (Debbie) Yardley, brother-in-law Cliff (Nancy) Yardley, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, grandparents, in-laws, a great-granddaughter, sisters April Rollins Yardley and Norda (Bill) Barton, and sisters-in-law Beth Yardley and Eudora Carter.

The family would like to thank Dr. Rhett Smith and Tammy, Home Health “The Girls,” Therapists, St. George Neuro Rehab, and the staff at Beaver Valley Hospital.

Funeral services for Linda will be held on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the Beaver Stake Center (1350 East 200 North, Beaver, Utah). A viewing will be held on Monday, March 3, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the stake center. There will also be a viewing prior to the services on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, from 9:00 am to 10:45 pm. Burial in the Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver under the direction and care of Blackburn Vernal Mortuary.