Ramona Stolworthy Broadbent Gills

After enjoying a walk at a Mesa park with her new friend Walt and four of his daughters, Ramona served them her lemon meringue pie. The evening was perfect but before leaving, Ramona bathed the girls and tucked them into bed. This was the first memory some of them have of the kind and tender woman who would soon become their mother.

Those girls knew that Ramona was the perfect mom for them. They could feel her loving and peaceful nature and enjoyed the fun personality she often displayed. But they could not imagine that they would become part of a family of 15 children.

Ramona Stolworthy Broadbent Gills was born April 10, 1940, to Viola and Carlos Stolworthy. She was one of ten siblings and loved her brothers and sisters dearly. They remained her best friends throughout her entire life.

She attended high school in Spanish Fork, where she met Ross Broadbent. She was attending BYU when he returned from a mission to Brazil and they married in the Salt Lake City Temple. They had five children – four boys and one girl – and were living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She was serving as the Primary president, responsible for the entire primary organization throughout the Brazilian mission, when a bus accident changed her life.

The accident broke her back, and she was eventually diagnosed with hepatitis before becoming anemic requiring additional blood. Many of the Latter-day Saints missionaries donated their blood. All but one missionary was a match. After her back healed, she learned she had Aplastic anemia, which presented life threatening challenges at the cellular level and in the bone marrow. Ramona suffered hundreds of medical procedures over the next 50+ years. Fearing her children would grow to know her through photographs, she pushed death aside through a combination of willpower and boundless faith.

After moving back to the States, her marriage to Ross ended. When Ramona and Walt Gills married in Arizona in 1975 it wonderfully brought together her children and Walt’s two sons and five daughters. They referred to the children, ages 2 to 18, as “his, hers and ours.” The “ours” were three children they later had together.

Each night, it was customary to wash hands and comb hair before sitting together around two tables as a family to eat fresh, homemade meals. Each week, Ramona baked 18 loaves of bread from scratch which was enjoyed and devoured by all. With the weekly delivery of a dozen cases of fresh fruit and vegetables, each morning for breakfast, Ramona squeezed enough oranges for everyone to enjoy fresh juice. Preparing meals and juicing fresh produce was her way of keeping kids happy and healthy.

Ramona graduated from nursing school at ASU in 1980 and worked as an RN at local hospitals. Her love for nursing was sparked by one of the nurses who cared for her during the recovery of her broken back. She loved caring for others and often shared stories about patients that touched her life. After she retired from nursing in the early 1990s, she continued serving others through church callings. She served as primary president, compassionate service leader, relief society teacher, organist in sacrament, pianist that accompanied the ward choir, and a Temple worker at the Mesa Temple.

Ramona found joy in life, and family was everything to her. Her biggest source of joy came from hearing her children laugh and spending time with family. She had 40 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren and made each feel like her favorite. She felt God’s love through the simple thing especially nature. She loved sunsets, blossoms and the ocean. She played the piano to bring peace in her home and loved to paint nature scenes, animals, and portraits with watercolors, and journaled her entire life. In 2014 she published her book “Borne Up As On Eagles’ Wings.” The cover was painted by her son, Jeff Broadbent, specifically for her book. Her faith in our Lord never wavered, and the love she had for her family was immense. Ramona passed peacefully on February 19, 2023.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 30 years, Walt, her son Rus and Walt’s daughter Lisa.

She is survived by her 13 children Chris (Maureen), Tony, Jeff (Dianna), Jared, Andrea, Tony (Lollie), Terri (Bob), Trudy (Steve), Tracy, Prudence, Gwenhyver (Pace), Peter (Kelly), and Ashleigh (Anthon).

Services to be held at: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3307 South Greenfield Road, in Gilbert, AZ. Viewing Friday, March 10, from 6:30PM – 9PM. Service Saturday, March 11, at 10AM. Gravesite service will follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Ramona Gills/Missionary Fund at:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sunny Mesa Ward

4661 East Harmony Circle

Mesa, Arizona 85206

If you asked her children which word best describes their mother, you’d hear “loving, patient, enduring, beautiful, indomitable, determined, kind, resilient, happy, persistent, honest, nurturing and faithful.”