Martha Colleen Harris Black August 30, 1932 ~ May 25, 2024

Colleen Black passed away on May 25, 2024 at the age of 91 while residing at Riverway Assisted Living in South Jordan, Utah. She had been a resident there for the past three years because her health had declined.
She was born on August 30, 1932 in Wellington, Utah, to Leonard LeRoy and Lenna Mae Harris. She was born at home and delivered by Lenna’s mother, Veria Hill, who was a midwife. At the time of her birth, her father was working in one of the numerous coal mines in Carbon County.
When World War II broke out, her father and her uncle, Arlen “Hap” Workman, moved their families to Hollywood, California, to build ships to support the war effort.
After the war ended, they moved to Provo, Utah where Colleen spent the remainder of growing up years. She graduated from Provo High School in 1950.
After high school, one of her jobs was a telephone switch board operator. She would put in wires into a socket to connect the calling party with the party to whom they wished to speak.
Her uncle and aunt, Hap and Ruby Workman had a basement apartment that they rented to young men attending Brigham Young University. One of these renters would become her future husband, Keith Wallace Black.
After Keith finished serving a mission to the Western States Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they were sealed has husband and wife in the Salt Lake Temple on January 5, 1953.
About three weeks later they moved to Monterey, California so Keith could attend basic training at Fort Ord. After finishing the six-week course they moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for the remainder of Keith’s two-year enlistment.
After the enlistment ended, they moved to Keith’s hometown of Blanding, Utah where they lived until about 2002. But they moved to Provo so Keith could get more care for his health.
The moved to Salt Lake City in January 2006 to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Keith passed away about three weeks later. Colleen remained in the Salt Lake valley but her health slowly declined over the years.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Lenna Harris; younger and only sibling, Val Harris; husband Keith; and children Kent, Kerry, and Carla.
She is survived by her son Randy and his wife Marlene, daughters-in-law Ardeanne (who married Kent) and her husband David Lacy, and Kris (who married Kerry) and her husband, Randy Sloan. She has eleven grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
A graveside service at the Blanding Cemetery will be held at a date to be determined.