Ilean Corbridge has been chosen by the Malad Chamber of Commerce as Malad’s Honored Pioneer for 2014, and as such will be one of the honored guests in the July 4 Sesquicentennial Parade.
Ilean was born on June 18, 1928, on a ranch near what is called Red Rock. Her father was mowing hay with her brother, Gordon (Griffiths) when a white dishtowel was being waved from the ranch house. That was the signal to hitch up the buggy and go to Malad for the doctor. Ilean was the fifth of six children born to Thomas Griffiths and Ida Palmer. Ilean, Gordon, and Maria (Jones) were the only children who lived to maturity.
The year she was born, Ilean’s parents purchased a car. One of the highlights of her childhood was driving to town on Saturday nights with the cousins. They would deliver cream to Dick Evan’s Creamery and get an ice cream at Horsley’s store.
There was plenty of hard work on the farm, especially without modern conveniences.
Ilean was educated in the Malad schools. While in high school, a young Lon Corbridge noticed Ilean at an LDS stake conference. Their first dance was at the LeGrande Hall. World War II interrupted their courtship when Lon and others from his graduating class were drafted into the army and left the day after graduation.
During the war there was a shortage of help at the old Brigham City cannery, so a busload of girls from Malad went down and worked 12-hour night shifts. German prisoners of war used to be brought into the cannery to do heavy manual labor. Someone was always guarding the prisoners, but the Malad girls who worked there were always scared and couldn’t relax when the prisoners were around.
When Lon got home from the war he continued to date Ilean. Many young men had not had a chance to go on missions. Lon couldn’t go on a mission until his brother, Eldon, returned to help with the farm work so he asked Ilean to marry him if she was willing to let him go on a mission when the call came. They married on June 5, 1947. Lon and his brother, Dale, left to serve in the Western Canadian Mission in November of that year. It was a lonely time for Ilean, but she enjoyed working as a secretary at Crowther’s Mill. Ilean was officially called to serve as Lon’s missionary companion for the last six months of his mission.
When they returned from their mission, they began their family and eventually became the parents of seven daughters, Janet (Skinner), Karen (Hinckley), Debbie (Corbridge), Cherie (Lee), Annette (Morley), Kathy (Walton) and Mary (Simkins). Ilean has 29 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren.
In 1948, Lon’s father, Lawrence Corbridge, purchased a ranch in Soda Springs for Lon and his brothers to farm. Lon, Ilean, and their family “enjoyed” many pioneering experiences on that ranch without electricity, telephone and other conveniences during the early years. However, it was a wonderful place to teach children to work hard and 55 family reunions have been enjoyed in the lovely surroundings.
Ilean has had many opportunities to serve in the church, including secretary in the stake Sunday School, Mutual and Primary for over 25 years. She later served as Stake Primary President and Ward Relief Society President. She also typed over 1,000 patriarchal blessings for her husband, Lon, and for Patriarch, Edward Crowther.
Ilean worked as a dental assistant for Dr. Edgar Thorpe for 14 years. She is a talented quilter and seamstress, and enjoys working in her yard. Her dinner rolls are a must for family gatherings. She quietly lends a hand where needed and provides a listening ear as she serves others.
She is the perfect example of someone who is a modern-day pioneer, who knows what it’s like to make a little go a long way, but who also makes whatever she touches better. She continues to enrich all of our lives.