Called by George Albert Smith Successor Florence S. Jacobsen Name Bertha Reeder | Website Bertha S. Reeder Children at least 2 Predecessor Lucy Grant Cannon | |
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Full Name Bertha Julia Stone Born October 28, 1892
Ogden, Utah Territory, United States ( 1892-10-28 ) Resting place Ogden City Cemetery
41°13′57″N 111°57′44″W / 41.2325°N 111.9622°W / 41.2325; -111.9622 (Ogden City Cemetery) Spouse(s) William Henry Reeder, Jr.
I. Lee Richard Parents Frederick N. Stone
Bertha Julia Died December 26, 1982, Pocatello, Idaho, United States | ||
Bertha Julia Stone Aadnesen Reeder Richards (October 28, 1892 – December 26, 1982) was the fifth general president of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1948 to 1961.
Biography
Bertha Julia Stone was born on October 28, 1892 in Ogden, Utah Territory to Frederick Napper Stone and Bertha Julia. She attended Weber Academy after high school and married Christopher Aadnesen in 1912. The couple had two children. Christopher was killed in a hunting accident in 1930.
In 1934, Bertha married William Henry Reeder, Jr., a municipal judge who was a widower with one son. In 1941, William was called as the president of the New England States Mission of the church; the Reeders lived as church missionaries for nearly seven years in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In April 1948, less than a year after returning to Ogden, Bertha Reeder succeeded Lucy Grant Cannon as the general president of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. One of her counselors was Frances Larue Carr Longden. In March 1961, William Reeder died, and in September that year Bertha was released and was succeeded as Young Women president by Florence S. Jacobsen. During her tenure, the age groups in the Young Women organization were realigned to their current configuration and the "Gleaners" were renamed the "Laurels".
In 1964, Bertha married I.L. (Lee) Richards, a friend she had known for many years. Lee died in 1981, after which Bertha moved to Pocatello, Idaho to be near her daughter. She died in Pocatello at the age of 90 and her funeral was held in Ogden.