Youma Neerings, 79, of Ashton, passed away peacefully at the Ashton Living Center on December 28, 2016, after battling dementia and leukemia.

She was born January 30, 1937, to Albert and Isabelle Allen of Teasdale, Utah. She was the seventh born of ten children. Her father was a shepherd and she grew up on a farm. Her job growing up was to tend to the garden and she did so proudly. Her gardens were abundant and beautiful and they helped feed her family.

She was in her early 20's when she met a man named Gerald Neerings while she was waitressing. He stopped in on his lunch breaks, and shortly thereafter they got married and had two children, Neysha and Paul.

There are so many memories we have of Youma. How do you put someone's whole life in to a few paragraphs? We will start with how kind she was. She will be remembered for her calm and quiet, yet spunky nature. She always had the right words to say at the right time.

In her later years she was an avid card player and dice player. She loved to win at Rummy and Farkle. So much so, that she would call you a cheater if she lost to you.

She also loved ice cream. One of our most recent, fun memories was when we took her to the Frostop to get a large swirl ice cream cone. It was a hot summer day and the ice cream was melting faster than she could eat it. She had ice cream running down her hands and into her lap. All she did was laugh, which made us laugh too.

Youma is preceded in death by her grandparents, parents, four brothers and four sisters, and her husband Gerald Neerings.

She is survived by her children, Neysha (John) Larson, Paul (Melissa) Neerings; a brother Kay (Lisa) Allen; grandchildren, Katie (Tom) Grewell, Cameron, Joshua, Coddie and Samantha Neerings, Chelzie (Anthony) Clawson, Kristy (Zeb) Gould, Brittany (Kyle) Shultz, Rowdy (Ashlee) Larson; and 13 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at a later date to be announced.