Vontella Hess Buchholz Kimball (1906-1971) was born 1906 January 31 in Farmington, Utah to Lois Katherine Kimball and David Cornelius Hess. She was the granddaughter of Heber Chase Kimball, an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kimball graduated from Davis County High School and attended the University of Utah as a freshman, before marrying Septimus Herman Buchholz in 1926. That same year the couple had one son together, Stanley Buchholz Kimball. In 1927 Buchholz and Kimball divorced. In 1937, Kimball married Richard Heber Kimball in Boulder Colorado. The two moved to Denver together, and were married for four years, until Richard Kimball's death in 1941.
In the early 1930s, Kimball worked as a traveling representative for a large cosmetics firm, and taught cosmetic classes across the country. By 1932, Kimball was working as the Personal Representative for Helena Rubinstein, a cosmetics entrepreneur based in New York City. Kimball continued to travel and teach cosmetic classes across the United States as a representative of both Helena Rubinstein and Tussy Cosmetics Company. While at Tussy Cosmetics, she held the title of National Education Director. In 1943, Kimball was promoted to Head National Representative of Lehn and Fink, a New York drug and cosmetics company.
Between 1935 and 1966, Kimball took multiple trips to Europe and Asia to learn more about cosmetic techniques. Kimball documented her experiences teaching classes, traveling, and visiting religious sites, particularly in the Levant region of West Asia. In the latter half of her career, Kimball gave lectures on cosmetics, etiquette, and Middle Eastern culture at various universities and women's organizations across the country. She was also a featured lecturer on radio and television. In her travels, Kimball collected artifacts dating back to 3000 B.C.E. Before her death, she donated these artifacts to the Middle East Studies Center at the University of Utah. Kimball died 1971 September 26 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Source: Regional Fireside Services Held for Vontella Kimball [Newspaper clipping]. (1971, October 1). Davis County Clipper, p. 15. Retrieved from https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s65q5qct/852314
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