LDS Scene

Clara May Jeffs Hunter, wife of Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve, died October 9 after a lingering illness. She was eighty-one. In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons (a third son died in infancy), eighteen grandchildren, and a sister. Sister Hunter was an active Church worker and a business executive in Southern California before her marriage in 1931. Funeral services were held October 12 in Salt Lake City.

Elaine A. Cannon, General President of the Young Women, received the annual Outstanding Youth Leadership Award in Washington, D.C., October 10 from Religious Heritage of America, a national interfaith organization dedicated to strengthening and perpetuating the religious heritage of the United States. Previous recipients include President Spencer W. Kimball, former Michigan Governor George Romney, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, businessman J. C. Penny, and filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille.

Dr. James O. Mason, executive director of the Utah State Health Department, is the new head of the United States’ Communicable Disease Centers in Atlanta, Georgia. He will head a complex of several centers concerned with health promotion and education, disease control, and other aspects of health. Dr. Mason was formerly head of the Church’s Health Services Corporation.

Wendell M. Smoot, Jr., of Salt Lake City, has been appointed vice-president of the Tabernacle Choir. He will assist Oakley S. Evans, choir president, with planning, fund-raising, and other administrative duties.