Fae Byrne Crompton of Orem, Utah, passed away on April 21, 2026.  She was born on January 7, 1926, in Evanston, Wyoming to Luella and Walter Byrne; she was 100 years old.

Fae grew up in Piedmont, Wyoming.  Piedmont was a railroad town on the transcontinental railroad, and was rapidly transitioning to a ghost town during Fae’s childhood.  Fae attended the one-room school house in Piedmont until junior high, when she would then catch the bus to ride into Evanston for school, often getting to the bus stop on the back of a motorcycle that was being newly manufactured in the United States: a Harly Davidson.  In 1942 Fae was put on a train to Southern California to finish her final year of high school while living with her older brother Francis.  She overcame a life-threatening case of pneumonia while in Southern California, and benefited from a new sulfa drug – one of the first antibiotics available.  Her family moved from Piedmont to Ogden, Utah in early 1943.  They were one of the very last families to leave Piedmont before it became uninhabited in the late 1940’s.  Fae joined them in Ogden after her High School graduation.

In Ogden she worked for the Union Pacific railroad “calling” the Engineers and crew to report to the trains.  This was during World War II.  Before the war, the job of calling the crews was handled by young men whose job was ‘call boy’.  Telephone lines were not common in Ogden, and Union Pacific relied on these ‘call boys’ to go to the hotels and apartments where the crews were resting to let them know their trains were ready.  But so many young men were engaged in the war effort that there was a need for females to replace them, so Fae got the job, and they naturally modified the title from ‘call boy’ to ‘call girl’.  She was proud of, and enjoyed this job for three years.  She was later amused by, and sometimes embarrassed of, the job’s title.

Fae married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, Clifford Crompton in Elko, Nevada, on February 23, 1946.  Their marriage was later sealed in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple.  They had six sons: Brent (Kelly), Craig (Janice), Kevin, Corey (Mia), Daryl, Kirby (Jodi) Crompton.

They were blessed with sixteen grandchildren, and twenty-four great grandchildren.

Fae would sing and sing in such a fun animated way with her grandchildren.  She pronounced herself “granny”, and all her grandchildren called her that.  It was a term of endearment, and eliminated any confusion with the other grandmas.

Fae was a fierce advocate for her boys; loving and nurturing them, admonishing them, civilizing them, and showing them the importance of living good values.  She had a soft spot for the disadvantaged, and would stand up for the underdog.  This was readily apparent in the care, love, and nurture for those whose intellectual growth had less than a traditional trajectory; her patient love, caring, kindness, and encouragement – year after year after year - was quietly given with never a complaint.

She was a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and was proud of that.  She made beautiful quilts that often consumed the large room in the basement while being worked on. She enlisted the help of her family, especially her husband, to hand stitch these quilts.  She had a sour dough start that had a genealogy going back decades; she used that start every Sunday morning to put on a brunch feast (depending on what time her church block ran) with sour dough pancakes, chocolate cakes, scones, and so much more.  She enjoyed preserving fruit and her basement was filled with jars of peaches, apricot nectar, pears, grape juice, and jams and jellies of all variety.  Hand churned apricot ice cream was a Crompton tradition.

Fae was proud of her pioneer heritage, and it was a badge of honor to have been raised in Piedmont, Wyoming.  Her great grandfather Moses Byrne had built four large charcoal kilns after the civil war, and Fae lived just a short distance down the road from the kilns.  These kilns are now a Wyoming state historical site.  Family reunions were held there every year for most of Fae’s life, and she was an enthusiastic organizer and supporter of the reunion and of family history.  She always had stories of family and her life in Piedmont.

Fae was active, physically and spiritually for most of her life.  She was an avid and frequent walker, going miles a day around the neighborhood.  When her boys would join her on these walks, with her brisk pace it was a struggle to keep pace.  None of her boys ever asked to her to slow down, but all were aware she had physical ability that challenged them.  Fae was a faithful and devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She spent many years actively involved in Relief Society leadership, and actively performing temple work.  The Church was an important aspect of her life, and she devoted time and resources for the benefit of others.

Fae was devoted to her family.  She was married to Clifford for 76 years.  She took care of him, especially in the last years of his life, doing everything that she was physically capable of doing to keep him healthy and well in body and soul.

Fae is survived by four of her sons.  She is preceded in death by her two sons, Brent, and Craig, and by her grandson KJ. At the time of her death she was a member of the Lakeview 8th ward in Orem, Utah. No formal funeral is planned, a private graveside service will be held in Piedmont, Wyoming at a date to be determined.  If a donation is desired, please consider a donation to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.