Sister of the month and Ancestor Story

Barbara Clark Cook Stout

Barbara Clark Cook Stout was born June 25, 19?? in SLC, UT while her grandparents were serving a mission in Mexico. At the age of one, her mother took Barbara to Mexico for a short visit, not knowing she was breaking mission rules. Barbara has lived most of her life where she lives now or @ 720 E. where her brother Bill Clark now lives. In 1963, while living in her grandmother's (Viola Stout) basement apartment, her father, Justin Clark, with the help of Merlin Smith (a long-time ward member), dug a basement for a house to be moved from 3300 So. across from Granite High, about where Checker Auto is now, to its present location @720 E. At that time, there were many Stouts and Clarks living in the ward. She had a few aunts and uncles, cousins and both sets of grandparents living in the ward. Melanie Owens is a distant cousin. Richard Owen is her uncle's brother-in-law.

Barbara is the oldest of 17 children and was given a lot of responsibilities. Her mother, now Maureen Eldredge, plays the piano. She started giving Barbara piano lessons at the age of 5 and continued until 7th grade. Barbara also started playing the violin in school in the 4th grade. In 7th grade, she changed to viola. She told her parents she would like to learn the guitar. Her foster-sister got a guitar for Christmas. She told her parents she would like to learn the harmonica. Two brothers were given harmonicas for the next Christmas. Then one year of paid piano lessons was given as a Christmas present. She quit lessons when she had to start paying for them herself, but started giving piano lessons when she was in the 9th grade. She had 14 students and a paper route so she could earn money to go to Europe with her grandmother, Viola Stout - which she did and had a hoot. Barbara did finally "inherit" the guitar when her foster-sister left and taught herself to play. As Barbara started college, her father got some extra pay and bought a bunch of instruments, one being a xylophone-like instrument called a marimba. Playing around with the marimba would later be instrumental (he - he) in her joining a band to play many percussion instruments. He also paid $600 toward a viola of her choice. When Barbara decided to go on a mission, she asked Merv Brown to give her organ lessons, which he did. She served a mission to Norway.

After her mission, she graduated from Snow College and BYU. She returned to Ephraim to teach 2nd grade in Mt. Pleasant, UT She met her husband, Mike Cook and got married right after her first year of teaching. After a period of time of Mike's loss of employment, they moved back to SLC and moved into her grandmother's upstairs apartment where's she been ever since. Mike died in 2004. She married Roger Stout in November 2007. Now there are Stouts and Clarks in the ward and a few aunts and uncles and cousins. Bill and Richard Clark are her brothers. The grandparents on both sides are smiling down from heaven.

Pioneer Story

Barbara has a pioneer story handed down to her from her father's side. Her great-great grandparents were coming from Denmark. Cholera broke out and her great-great grandmother's son got sick. She tended him until he died and she came down with cholera, as well and died. The bodies were in a wagon for a while before the company stopped to bury all of the dead. The oldest daughter was by the wagon when her mother came back from the dead for a short time. The mother told her daughter that heaven was a very beautiful place, that the gospel was true, and that they all should stand fast in their testimonies and never leave the church. The family did stay strong.