Laura Maxine Carter Finlayson, 94, of Soda Springs, passed away peacefully surrounded by family Friday, January 4, 2019 at the Edgewood Assisted Living Center in Soda Springs. She was born July 18, 1924 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the daughter of James Andrew and Maud Gardner Carter.

Laura was raised in Ammon, Idaho where she attended church and school until she married Richard (Dick) Arnold Finlayson July 18, 1941. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Idaho Falls Temple on March 31, 1950.

The young couple moved to a ranch at Trail Canyon in 1942; back to Idaho Falls during Dicks' Army Service, then to Conda for a few years before moving to Soda Springs in 1957 where they resided, except for short periods, until Richard's death in 2007. Laura continued to live in their Soda Springs retirement home until 2017, when she moved to the Edgewood Assisted Living Center.

Laura was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in many church callings throughout her life including Relief Society President, Young Women's President, and a variety of teaching and secretary positions. She served a church mission with her husband in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission in 1986 and as temple officiators in the Logan Temple from 1987 until 2007.

She was an active business partner with her husband in R&F Enterprises, a construction and real estate development company, which built over 300 homes in the Soda Springs area. Prior to that, she worked for Sander's Furniture Store and JC Penney Company. She traveled extensively throughout her life, visiting much of the Continental United States, and world-wide, in trips to Europe, North Africa, Mexico and Central America, Alaska, Hawaii, the Cook Islands, Australia and New Zealand.

She was an accomplished quilter, enjoyed card games, bingo, pleasant conversation, making friends, and was a sports aficionado. She loved watching baseball and basketball on TV. But her favorite team was the Utah Jazz. She knew all the players by name and could tell you who was doing well and who wasn't.

Perhaps her favorite roles were as a mother and a homemaker. She was renowned for her cooking and baking, but especially for her dinner rolls, chicken noodle soup, chocolate chip cookies, and her highly sought-after banana muffins. In her later years, she was affectionately known to many as "Grandma Muffin" for making hundreds of muffins every week and distributing them to neighbors, family and friends in the area. If you visited her house, you were sure to leave with a bag of goodies.

Laura is survived by two sons, a daughter, and their spouses, Kenneth Richard and Mary Finlayson, Soda Springs, James Allan and Jeannette Finlayson, Grand Junction, CO, and Loralyn and Cameron Armstrong, Idaho Falls; 24 grandchildren; 74 great grandchildren; and 8 great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, 13 siblings, her husband of 66 years, Richard Arnold Finlayson, two daughters, Lynda Lee Finlayson and Julie Ann Perkins, a grandson, William Perkins, and 3 great-granddaughters, Abish and Mary Finlayson, and Auria Weeks.

Funeral services will be conducted at noon on Tuesday, January 8, at the Bailey Creek LDS chapel. A viewing will be held between 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Monday, January 7, at Bailey Creek LDS chapel. Burial will be in the Fairview Cemetery in Soda Springs.

Condolences and memories can be shared with the family by visiting www.simsfh.com.

Published in Idaho State Journal on Jan. 6, 2019