Constance "Connie" King's Obituary
Constance "Connie" King (nee Modahl)
Connie was born on June 13, 1957, in Valley City, North Dakota to Vern and Blanche Modahl, the second oldest of five children, she passed peacefully in Ogden, Utah on October 13, 2024.
As a young child, the family moved to Bakersfield, California, where Connie would spend the majority of her life with a brief stint in Nebraska before moving to Utah. She married Mike King in 1974, resulting two daughters Candi and Susan, who she tried to nickname "Nanny Goat" and "Gigi" respectively (and thankfully the nicknames didn't stick), before divorcing a few years later.
A fan of all things creepy, crawly and slithery, Connie had a pet corn snake named Precious, because she said, “Isn’t she just precious!?” She passed that love on to Candi who never met a creature she didn't think she could tame. Connie was a talented seamstress, having made some of her own clothing, including Susan's prom dress, and both daughter's Barbies had full couture wardrobes. Susan inherited her mother's skill and love of sewing.
Connie loved the mountains and loved to fish above all else. If she was not fishing, she was talking about fishing or fiddling with her fishing gear. One story she frequently told was how she had caught several decent sized catfish from the California Aquaduct during an overnight trip. She put them in the bathtub to clean the following day, but Blanche went to use the restroom, and the startled fish gave her quite a scare! Connie would laugh and laugh reliving the moment. Both daughters inherited that love.
Pets had been a large part of Connie's life, from dogs to rats in her youth, to hamsters, guineapigs, birds and cats as Candi and Susan grew up. She had CeeCee, for just under 20 years, who loved to leave feline inspired “gifts.” Rocki was a lab-mutt mix who never met a morsal of human food that he didn't love. After he passed, we found a rescue at the shelter who was labeled aggressive because she bit a handler who tried to get to close to her puppies, and Maggie soon went home with Connie. Maggie had no problems putting other dogs in their place if they got too curious about her human. And, oh how Connie loved her little protector!
Garfield, the lovable comic strip cat, always made her smile and they had a lot in common – a love of coffee, naps and good food! Connie was talented with a crochet hook, making teddy bears, mittens and gifts for friends and family. Never one to follow a pattern, she would work through the vision in her head till it manifested in her hands, an item made with love and patience.
Coworkers quickly became friends, and she enjoyed fun evenings out or a meet-up for lunch. She was a great friend, and when she cared, she cared deeply. As one friend said, "She always made sure I knew she loved me."
She is preceded in death by her parents, and two sisters Teri and Sandy. Survived by her two brothers Jeff (Johanna), Mark (Trish), daughters Candi (Calvin), Susan (Matt), her grandchildren Kiya, Ryan, Alden, Trevor and Tucker, and great-grandchildren. To her nieces and nephews Mark, Jeff, Katie, Sam and Brittany, she was Aunt Noni, a nickname she wore with pride.
Connie had a lifelong fascination with her Norwegian ancestry, and always insisted on saying a classic Norwegian Table Prayer at every holiday family gathering, I Jesu navn går vi til bords, At spise og drikke på ditt ord. Dig Gud, til aere, oss til gavn, Så får vi mat I Jesu navn. (In Jesus’ name we go to the table, To eat and drink according to his word. To God, the honor, to us the gain, So we have food in Jesus’ name.) Amen.
No services are currently planned.
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