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Frances Monson, Wife of LDS President, Passes Away

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  Frances Monson, the wife of President Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away early this morning at the age of 85.

A news release from the church says Sister Monson never sought the spotlight, but President Monson said she was the practical partner in their 64-year marriage.  Speaking at the church’s General Conference in 2008, he recalled the moment when she woke up in the hospital after living in a coma for almost a month.

“And I gave her a kiss, and a hug," he said. "And I said, ‘You’re back.  I love you.’  And she said, ‘I love you too, Tom.  But we’re in serious trouble.’  I thought, ‘What do you know about trouble, Frances?’  She said, 'I forgot to mail in our fourth-quarter income tax payment.'”

Frances Monson was a graduate of the University of Utah who excelled at math and science.  The Monsons had three children who said she taught them thrift and self-reliance.

She had been in the hospital for several weeks when she passed away about 6:35 Friday morning of causes incident to age.

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