Darlene Newbold Little

Darlene Newbold Little, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt passed away in the early morning of September 21st, 2026. She was 94 years old.

Darlene was born on July 1st, 1932, to Samuel Orlon and Mary Henrietta Newbold in South Jordan, Utah, where she grew up with her cherished sisters, Rhea and Larraine. As a young girl, she learned from her parents the importance of faith, family, and hard work – values which shaped and molded her entire life. 

Her youth was filled with working on her family’s sugar beet farm, playing the accordion, and trick riding with her horse, Babe, as the Salt Lake County Rodeo Queen. Soon after graduating Jordan High School, on November 16th, 1950, she married Frank Harmon Little, whom she had met on a trip to Como Springs in Morgan County. They settled into Frank’s childhood home in Morgan City where she raised her four children and lived for the rest of her life. 

Never one to sit on the sidelines, Darlene, alongside Frank, set her matchless work ethic to serving and giving back to their community. They established Little Sound, providing sound services to parades, fairs, rodeos, and countless other events in Morgan and other Utah communities. 

Most well-known was the “Christmas Hill,” a Morgan holiday tradition lasting over 70 years. Each year, Darlene would use her artistic skills to design and paint new figures and characters for the scene which grew to fill her front yard, backyard, and the hillside behind her home. Following Frank’s passing in 1991, Darlene carried on these traditions with her family.

A lifelong faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Darlene held numerous callings, including Stake Sunday School secretary and the Compassionate Service coordinator for multiple ward leaderships. Yet her true spirit of service happened behind the scenes with quiet and meaningful gestures for which she never wanted or asked for any credit or recognition. 

Above all, Darlene’s greatest joy in life was her family and time spent with them. Every year without fail she went camping with her family in the Grand Tetons, and many years included her joining in on deer hunts and fishing trips to Yellowstone or Henry Lake. Every holiday was an occasion for a family get-together at her home with plenty of food – her potato salad and banana cream pie always on the menu. And she was involved in every event of every single one of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great grandchildren; birthdays, baptisms, sports, weddings, dance recitals, Primary programs, vacations, mission farewells and homecomings, performances, graduations – Darlene made time for all of it, and her family will miss the space she kept in her tireless heart for each one of them.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Frank; her sisters, Rhea Beckstead and Larraine Durrant (Morris); brother-in-law, Lee Beckstead (Rhea); two sons-in-law, George Smith (Sherrie) and David Randall (Janet); and her granddaughter, Laurie Ann Little (Frank and Sally). 

She is survived by her children, Janet Randall (David), Sherrie Schroen (John), Frank Little (Sally), and Cindy London (Tony); by her brother-in-law Morris Durrant (Larraine); and by her 17 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren.

Darlene’s children express their sincerest gratitude to Corey Blomquist and Tina House for their compassionate support and care, and to all the family, extended family, neighbors, and friends who aided Darlene in the final days of her life. 

A viewing will take place on Thursday, September 24th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. and Friday, September 25th from 10:30 - 11:45 a.m. at the Morgan Stake Center, 355 North, 700 East, Morgan, UT. Funeral services will immediately follow the morning viewing, with burial services at South Morgan Cemetery.