Elena Choules

Elena Choules, 73 years of age, passed away quietly at home on June 6, 2018, from the effects of dementia.

Elena was born in Madrid, Spain on September 10, 1944 to Ricardo Diaz Llamas and Concepcion Grande Cabrera. Elena attended Catholic schools in Madrid. Due to civil unrest, Elena's family moved to Venezuela where she spent her teenage years. In Venezuela, Elena was married, gave birth to her daughter Maria Elena, who consequently died within a couple of weeks of birth. Soon after the death of her daughter, Elena divorced her husband and returned to Spain. After returning to Spain, and as a single mother to Domingo Diaz Grande, Elena was trained as a dental hygienist, a field she worked in until she left Spain once more.

Upon her return to Spain from Venezuela, Elena was one of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints shortly after religious freedom was granted in Spain. She was active and heavily relied upon to grow the church; at one point in her church service Elena held as many as 11 callings at the branch and district level, often times traveling with LDS general authorities to visit the many branches of the church scattered throughout Spain.

In January of 1978, Elena met Jack Choules, a member of the military, between meetings in an LDS Chapel in Madrid. In November, she traveled with Jack to Walnut, California to meet his family, and on November 9, 1978 was married to Jack Choules in the Los Angeles LDS Temple. As her husband served in the military they lived in various locations including Nevada, Spain, and South Carolina. After Jack finished with the military, they moved to Virginia where she dedicated herself to raising and nurturing her children, Richard and Shelley. In 2006, they moved to Twin Falls, Idaho. The move to Idaho had been difficult for her but after a few months she declared that she liked Twin Falls and did not wish to move again. She remained active in the church until her health limited her activity, several months before her passing.

Elena is survived by her husband Jack Mark Choules of Twin Falls Idaho, sons Domingo Diaz Grande and Richard Choules, and daughter Shelley Barnes. She is also survived by 5 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, all whom she dearly cherished.

She was preceded in death by her parents Ricardo Diaz Llamas and Concepcion Grande Cabrera, her sister Mercedes Diaz Grande, her daughter Maria Elena and a granddaughter Hope Elena-Marie.

Services will be held Monday, June 11, 2018, with the viewing from 11:00 AM to 12:45 PM at Parke's Magic Valley Funeral home with funeral services at 1:00 PM and graveside services following at Twin Falls Cemetery.

She was much loved by family and friends, and will be dearly missed. In lieu of flowers, donations to Idaho Home Health and Hospice are suggested, as this organization helped greatly with her care for the last few months of her life.