Active Utah civic leader Belva Ashton dies at 71
Deseret News 13Oct99 P2
Active Utah civic leader Belva Ashton dies at 71

Former General Relief Society Board member Belva Barlow Ashton, 71, died on Friday, October 8th from complications from a stroke. Sister Ashton, widow of well-known LDS Church leader Wendell J. Ashton, was 71.

Ashton was known for her active life and involvement in many civic organizations, including the Utah Symphony Guild, the American Association of Women, and the Board of Trustees of Westminister

College. She served on the Relief Society Board for 16 years, during which she directed the dedication of the LDS Church's Nauvoo monument to women.

A graduate of the University of Utah, Ashton worked as a secretary to Senator Arthur V. Watkins in Washington D.C. and to Henry Eyring while he was dean at the University of Utah's Graduate School. She married Wendell J. Ashton in 1964, becoming a mother to his six children from a previous marriage. She and Wendell had one daughter.