ErmaLee Aaron of Fairview is always on a mission to serve others

FAIRVIEW—You may encounter ErmaLee Aaron at the Fairview Museum, or at the Fairview Senior Center, or at a city council meeting, or even driving down the street on her side-by-side. But wherever you bump into her, she is probably on a mission to perform some kind of service for someone.

Ermalee, who is 80, is always busy. She epitomizes the phrase, “Get involved.” She has served on the board of the Fairview Museum from its early beginnings. She has been the secretary of the senior center almost from the day it was built. She has been involved with the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and was a moving force in getting the Miss Fairview pageant started.

She is a beloved, ever-present figure around town, driving her side-by-side and waving to people she knows—and many she doesn’t.

She was born to Fairview residents C. Worth and Martha Bench in 1942. She went to elementary school and the beginning of middle school in Fairview. Part way through middle school, the Fairview school area was consolidated with other parts of northern Sanpete. She was a member of the first consolidated middle-school class.

She graduated from North Sanpete High School and then got a degree in accounting from LDS Business College Salt Lake City.

“Despite having an accounting degree, I was never able to get certified as a CPA because of discrimination against women in that profession at the time,” She said.

She said a lot of people who were originally from Sanpete ended up in her same ward in Salt Lake City while she was at business school. One of them was Alan S. Hansen from Centerfield. She was the MIA-Gleaners president (young women) while Hansen directed the young men’s side.

Their church jobs led to a lifetime collaboration when they were married in the Manti Temple a few months later.

Ermalee’s first job was with First Security Bank in Salt Lake City. She also worked for Security Mortgage and ran a women’s ready-to-wear store.

Later, she and her new husband ventured out of Utah when he got a job managing church welfare farms in Oregon and Washington. They lived in St. Paul, a small town located about half-way between Portland and Salem. 

While in Oregon, she worked as office manager for an orthodontist, Jay Nelson, who was originally from Moroni. He was the stake president there, and she also worked as a personal secretary for his stake president work. That, of course, was back when the church allowed such things.

“We were just farm folks there,” she said. “I milked cows and drove tractors and rode horses a lot.”

She said it wasn’t much different from what she did growing up in Fairview. She and her husband were childless, so they became surrogate parents to the Nelson children.

They stayed in Oregon for 25 years, returning to Fairview only after her father became too ill to operate the family dairy.

Almost from the day they returned, they got involved in the community. She and her husband were instrumental in putting on the first demolition derby. She said it wasn’t held at the rodeo arena but in a field on the northeast side of town.

“They set up a perimeter of logs and hauled up a couple of bleachers from the ballfield,” she said. “It was nothing like it is today. It’s awesome to see what it’s grown into.”

Shortly after their return to Fairview, Ermalee went to work for the Bank of Ephraim. When the bank opened a branch in Hildale/Colorado City, bank leaders asked her to be the manager. It was supposed to be a one-year assignment but turned into nearly a 35-year career. She commuted each week to Washington County but stayed involved in Fairview civic activities.

Tragedy struck in 1991 on Mt. Pleasant’s Main Street. Ermalee and her husband were participating in the Christmas lighting ceremony when they were struck by a car. Ermalee suffered serious leg injuries but recovered. Alan suffered traumatic head injuries and died 10 days later.

Despite her injuries and loss, she was not deterred from community service. In addition to her Fairview involvement, she served on the Utah State Fair Board and on the State Centennial Committee.

She said she fondly remembers taking the commemorative train ride from Cedar City to Salt Lake City with all the state dignitaries and says she even has a picture of herself sitting in Gov. Mike Leavitt’s chair at the State Capitol.

She married again in 2009 to James Ramon Aaron from Richfield, who she met while working at the Manti Temple. “We just loved the mountains, riding four-wheelers and exploring,” she said.

They had a trailer at Fish Lake and another at Box Canyon in the Fairview-Canyon area. That’s where her second husband died in his sleep on Aug. 27, 2019 after they had spent a wonderful day on the mountain.

Despite her age, Ermalee finds it hard to slow down. “I want to do so many things,” she said, “but now I have to pick and choose a little bit more.”

Asked what she has to say to younger people about the importance of civic service, she says, “Get involved. You learn so much about people and your community when you do.”

Fairview Mayor Brad Welch says of Ermalee, “Not only is she a wonderful lady and an extraordinary individual, but she’s also such a huge asset to the city. Her knowledge about Fairview is so encyclopedic that we call upon her all the time. She’s always so generous with her time and so willing to do virtually anything you ask. We regard her as not just a friend but a civic treasure. I wish we could clone her a thousand times.”