Rhoda Vaun Call Young Obituary (1924

Rhoda Vaun Call Young was born in Pocatello, Idaho, February 7, 1924, to Oel Facer Call and Myrtle Stowell Call. She died peacefully at her home in Provo, Utah, on September 28, 2015. Rhoda Vaun started formal piano lessons when she was four years old and continued at age five at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She gave her first recital a year later, performing a program of Bach, Mozart, and Schumann. Her musical education continued through high school at the Adelaide Anderson School of Music in Pocatello, Idaho. At the age of 17, she attended Colorado Women’s College in Denver on a music scholarship. She continued her piano studies at Brigham Young University, at the McCune School of Music in Salt Lake City, and at the University of Utah. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music at Brigham Young University, where she received the Taylor Award as the outstanding musician. Rhoda Vaun met Dallas Young, Jr. while attending at Brigham Young. In July, 1945, she was studying music in Boston, Massachusetts. Although Dad and Mom were committed to each other, Dad would not commit to marriage because at that time, he was a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, stationed at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and preparing for the invasion of Japan. The war brought uncertainties. When the Atomic bomb was dropped on August 8, 1945, the war changed their plans. Dad received orders to Panama. Rhoda Vaun and her parents traveled by auto from Pocatello, Idaho to Mexico City, and then flew to Panama on a C47. They were married there on February 22, 1946. Rhoda Vaun and Dallas raised their family of four children in Provo, Utah, where Dallas practiced law. In 1987 and 1988 she was invited by internationally acclaimed pianist Grant Johannesen to attend the Internationale Sommerakademie der Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where she performed daily in master classes conducted by him. She continued special studies with Mr. Johannesen, which had been ongoing since 1950. Her unique educational “Creature Concert,” designed especially for children, featured Poulenc’s Babar, the Elephant and other piano compositions about birds and animals. It was presented to more than 25,000 children in public and private schools in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, Tennessee, and Ohio. As a soloist and duo-pianist, Rhoda Vaun performed concerti by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Franok, Saint-Saëns, Gershwin, de Falla, and Poulenc. She was guest soloist with the Ruth Burr Chorus, Regional Ballet Orchestra, BYU Symphony, Idaho State Symphony, Utah Valley Symphony, American Fork Symphony, Intermountain Chamber Orchestra, and Utah Valley State College Symphony. She also performed locally as a member of 40 Fingers Piano Quartet for many years. Rhoda Vaun performed at the Park City International Music Festival, Nova Series in Salt Lake City, Provo City Music Series, Sundance, SCERA Shell, and Utah Valley State College Summer Concert. In the summer of 1997 she was a guest soloist on the Steinway Cruise of the Danube River and in January 1999 gave a recital at the New York City home of David Reuben, retired Vice President of Steinway & Sons. Mother stood by us, her children, with compassion and energy. She rejoiced in our accomplishments and wept with us when life’s journeys presented disappointments. She followed the example of her mother by having relatives stay in her home as they pursued their education. She was preceded in death by her parents, her older sister, Helena Call Jacobsen Brimhall, her brother, Dr. Dean Call and her husband, Dallas H. Young, Jr. She is survived by her brother, Dr. Lloyd Call of Pocatello, Idaho; her children, Brent (Janet) Young, Sherman (Kathy) Young, Jeannine Young (Dan Hess), and Katheryn (Tim) Molnar; nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. The family would like to extend a special thanks for those from Aspen Senior Care and Maple Creek Hospice who provided excellent care and became such good friends of Rhoda Vaun. Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at the Berg Drawing Room Chapel, 185 E. Center Street, Provo, Utah. The family will receive guests at 9:30 a.m. prior to the service. Family, relatives, and friends are invited to attend lunch at the Riverside Country Club, 2701 N. University Ave., Provo, Utah at 12:00 noon following the service. Condolences may be extended to the family at www.bergmortuary.com.