Parroquia Immaculate Conception celebra aniversario

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Adelina “Lena” Hedden

February 27, 1946 ~ October 16, 2024

Our dear mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend was called home to Our Lord on October 16, 2024.

Lena, the youngest child of Maria and Jose Martinez, was born on February 27, 1946, in the small farming town of Alamosa, Colorado, where she lived until the family decided to make the move to Utah in 1950. She grew up in the Salt Lake City area and attended West High School. As a young adult, she spent time between Salt Lake and Denver, where she met and married Stanley Hedden in 1969 and welcomed her daughter Michelle Antoinette in 1972.

Lena and her daughter Michelle shared a love of music. Throughout the years, friends and family could find Lena singing one of her favorites in tribute to Michelle, her only child, in good times and bad: “Hello stranger, it seems so good to see you back again. How long has it been? My baby, it seems like a mighty long time…”

Along with loving music, Lena had an undiscovered special talent for the arts, drawing and painting being her favorites. She was also a seamstress capable of making intricate clothing, even creating her own wedding dress. When Michelle was young, Lena spent time to teach her the basics of sewing, wanting to share her skills of the craft with her daughter. Her family will greatly miss her sense of humor, the ability to make anyone laugh and be the life of the party. The greatest quality she possessed despite facing many challenges in her own life was spreading her fun-loving spirit as an aunt, cousin and friend. She never saw an animal she didn’t like, taking care of many that were down on their luck.

Lena is survived by her daughter Michelle; grandson Anthony; great-granddaughter AziLan; sister Merci; brothers Robert and Alfonso; sister-in-law Vera (Eloy); and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1058 West 400 South, Salt Lake City. Interment will be at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 275 U Street, immediately following Mass. Everyone is welcome to attend a potluck luncheon at St. Patrick’s community hall following the services. Michelle has requested that all attendees wear bright colors to her mother’s celebration of life and come with a memory or music they would like to share.