Sonja O. Head

Sonja Joan Olson Head passed away peacefully in her home on Friday, October 14, 2022. 
Sonja was born on July 23, 1933, in Murray, Utah to Anna Maria Fredrickson and Frank
Leverne Olson. She was the fifth of six children. Her mother passed away when she was
two and she was raised by her father’s second wife Eva Teeples. Even as a young girl,
Sonja worked hard on the family farm and orchard. She was intelligent, inquisitive and
excelled in everything she did. 

She met Kitchener E. Head, a young man from Cardston, Alberta, at a church dance and
the two were drawn to one another. This was during the Korean War, and many young men
were going into the military service. They married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple April 2,
1951, just weeks before she graduated from Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah.
 When Kitchener joined the Air Force, they moved to Victorville, California, and began
service at George Air Force Base, where Sonja got a job in the Base Post Exchange where
she was elected the Base’s “Wife of the Week.” Their first son Kitchener Paul was born
there. They moved back to Utah while Kitchener attended the University of Utah medical
school. By the time they graduated they had added four more children to their family: Derin
Lea, David Matthew, Jennifer Lynn and Rex Edward.

Looking for a rural setting the family moved to Driggs, Idaho, July 1, 1961, where Kitchener
was the only doctor for many years. Ruth Louise and Helen Marie soon completed the
family. Sonja served many years of Church service and was an elected Teton County
Commissioner. Many were drawn to her and she and Kitchener took several other children
into their home, including three children from Atlixco, Mexico: Mario, Judith and Victor.  
Sonja was a loving, gracious lady. Her family grew: she became the mother of seven,
grandmother of 42, and great grandmother of 87, as of this writing.
Sonja was preceded in death by her parents, her son-in-law Michael Rodriguez, a great-
granddaughter, Lexi Gilland, and all her siblings except her younger brother John.  
The funeral will be held in the Tabernacle in Driggs Idaho, on Saturday, October 22, 2022.
Visitation hours are Friday, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Tabernacle and 10:00 to 10:45 a.m.
before the funeral, with internment in the Darby Cemetery.