Lynn Johnson's Obituary
Lynn Johnson
Rosalyn (Lynn) D. Johnson, 75, passed away at her home in Bountiful, Utah, on January 27, 2016, with her beloved husband Dennis and their six children by her side.
In this time of great sorrow, it’s hard to know where to begin. Here are some excerpts from Lynn’s own life story, which she wrote for the Treasures of Truth scrapbook she put together when she was still in high school. She wrote:
My Story
To the happy parents Lillian Marie Clive Dean and Raymond Foster Dean was born a daughter (me) on February 16, 1940 at 8:25 a.m. I weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 22 inches. I was named after my grandmother. The name my parents chose was Rosalyn Clive Dean.
When I was about four, Dad went into the Navy. Mother, Joy, and I did a lot of traveling with him. When we were in Salt Lake City, we lived at 1528 East 17th South. My father built the house himself with a little help from Mother.
When I was seven, Mother, Joy, and I moved to Texas. From Texas we went to California, then after about two years we came back to Salt Lake. We lived in Salt Lake for a while, and then we went to Las Vegas, Nevada, where I entered the sixth grade. After about six months we returned. I finished the sixth grade at Lafayette Elementary. We lived at 62 Gordon Place. Our landlady and very good friend was Nona Giles. We joined the 17th Ward.
I graduated from Horace Mann Jr. High, and later I went to West High. (Lynn was an excellent student whose report cards show that she consistently excelled at English and music in particular.)
My dreams for the future are to be married in the Temple and to go to Europe.
Lynn’s two stated dreams for the future both came true, along with many others. She met the love of her life, Dennis Lee Johnson, on the night of her graduation from West High School in Salt Lake City, and the couple married on March 27, 1959, in the 17th LDS Ward, with her sister Joy as maid of honor and Dennis’s brother Blaine as best man. They were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple soon after, and her dream to go to Europe eventually came true as well. In fact, the couple became world travelers, visiting countries as far away as Russia and China. They also traveled throughout the United States, and a highlight of their life was the 50th wedding anniversary celebration they shared with family outside of Driggs, Idaho, in 2009.
Lynn and Dennis shared a great love throughout nearly 57 years of married life, a love that will last for eternity. Here are some lines from a letter Dennis wrote to introduce his wife to a new LDS ward when the family moved to St. George, Utah, in 1980. In his words:
Lynn Johnson
Because Lynn is a new member to your ward, I will try and introduce you to her and let you know of her great qualities and of course none of her faults. If I had to list her faults, the list would be blank.
She has been a wife for 20 years and a mother for 19 years. She has six children (four daughters and two sons) and will soon be a grandmother. I don’t know anyone that loves their family more than she does.
She has a great amount of compassion for people. I have never heard her say anything bad about a person. If a person does wrong her, she will always have an excuse for their actions.
Lynn is a very active person. She likes playing tennis, skiing, camping, traveling in our motorhome, photography, and hiking, and the next desire of hers is to learn to fly an airplane.
She is a very dependable person. She supports me in all that I do. By being in different businesses, I do need her support and direction. She is the finest person I know, and I couldn’t love her more.
Dennis
Business took the family back to the Salt Lake Valley a few years later, and they spent many happy years there with their children on Orchard Drive in Holladay, and many more happy years at their home on Forest Bend Drive in Cottonwood Heights. With Lynn’s health in decline, they moved to Bountiful in 2015 to be closer to their daughter Jacci and her family, who helped care for her.
Lynn bravely fought a life-threatening illness after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 1975. Her oldest child was fourteen and her youngest was not yet two at the time. It is a testament to her strength and determination to care for her family that she was able to beat cancer after lengthy, intense treatment—at a time when far fewer individuals survived the disease.
Lynn was a gifted writer who kept years of journals that will be treasured by family for many years to come. Here is an entry she made when she was through with the radiation later that year:
“I have seen lots of sad sights up at University Hospital that made me realize how lucky I am. Now if I can only keep remembering. My new philosophy is that my life is not my own. That it can be taken from me at any time, and the only things I will be remembered for are the things I do for others.”
Her family members are among the many who were fortunate to be the recipients of those things she did for others—for another forty years.
Her given first name was Rosalyn, but she preferred to be called Lynn by those who didn’t call her Mom, Grandma, Grandma Maga, Grandma Toby, or Great-Grandma.
She was just a few weeks shy of age 76 when she passed away January 27, 2016, at her home in Bountiful, Utah. Maybe it was a heavenly reward for the amazing amount of herself that she gave to others, but she was given the rare gift of being surrounded by her beloved husband and their six children when her time came.
Lynn was a homemaker and a devout LDS Church member. She was an avid reader who started a book club that lasted for many years. And more than anything else, Lynn enjoyed anything that had to do with her family.
She is survived by her husband Dennis and their children Tari (Mike) Slizewski of Yreka, California; Jacci (Jim) Bacon of Bountiful; Ryan Johnson of Bountiful; Kelly Gieber of Lehi, Utah; Dana Bruschke of Timberline, Utah; and Ben (Katy) Johnson of Mt. Aire Canyon, Utah.
She is also survived by grandchildren Katie (Luke) Slizewski of Portland, Oregon; J.R. Bacon of Salt Lake City; Rudy (Oluyinka) Slizewski of Portland, Oregon; Berkeley (Erik) Tillford of Eugene, Oregon; Cody Bacon of Salt Lake City; Evan Gieber of Salt Lake City; Jammin Gieber of Salt Lake City; Madi Bruschke of Jeremy Ranch, Utah; Josh (Laura) Bacon of Holladay, Utah; Kasey Bacon (Mason) Hepworth of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Brandon and Nicki Bruschke of Timberline, Utah. She was also blessed with two great-grandchildren, Summer Rose Gieber and Nylah Rae (Slizewski) Dean—and a grandchild and a great-grandchild are on the way who are no doubt saying hello to her right now!
Lynn is survived as well by the beloved sister she grew up with, Joy (Jim) Verde of Sandy, Utah. (A refrigerator magnet that she displayed in her kitchen for decades read: “God made us sisters, but we made us friends.”)
Half-siblings Suzanne Dean, Paul Dean, and Marcia (Dean) Jackson also survive her.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond Foster Dean and Lillian Marie (Bill) Howes, and grandchild Wiley.
Services are 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 3, 2016, at Kimball Mill LDS Ward, 650 South 200 East, Bountiful, Utah, preceded by a viewing from 9:30–10:45 a.m. at the ward. Interment at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 South Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, will follow the services.
I know we thanked you already, Mom, but thank you again. We miss you. We all love you so much more than words could ever say.
What’s your fondest memory of Lynn?
What’s a lesson you learned from Lynn?
Share a story where Lynn's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Lynn you’ll never forget.
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