Jason's grandma was the most amazing woman and I will be forever grateful for the hand she had in raising the man I married! She is so loved and will never ever be forgotten!
We love you Grandma!!!
Families ARE Forever!
Lucy Lida Mathias Johnson
BORN: May 2, 1912
DIED: January 22, 2011
LOCATION: Springville, UT
Lucy Lida Mathias Johnson, age 98, died Saturday, January 22, 2011, at the home of her eldest daughter in Springville, Utah. She was born May 2, 1912, at the old Mathias family home near Monte Vista, Colorado, to Chester LeRoy Mathias and Nannella Malsbary. She married Roscoe Valore Johnson, June 29, 1935, “in my folks’ front yard, out on their front lawn” at their family farm near Monte Vista. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple.
Lucy attended Sargent Consolidated School (grades 1-12) in the San Luis Valley, graduating from high school in 1930. In 1935 she received a B.A. degree from Adams State College, at Alamosa. “I majored in history and along with that got a degree in education, with minors in political science and in music, and a secondary education certificate to teach high school.” Her zeal for learning continued throughout her life. She read widely–literature, art, philosophy, history, biography, travel, political events, geography, poetry–(all, ancient and contemporary). When her eyesight began to fail in November 1994, she continued “reading” through Talking Books for the Blind, averaging as many as ten volumes weekly. And though bedfast for the last month of her life, she continued–enjoying, comprehending, discussing what she “read–“though reduced–right up to three days before her passing. It was after listening to tapes of Willa Cather’s fiction and poetry in 2007 that Lucy composed several fine poems, now totally blind, working them out in her mind, revising, then dictating them to her daughter, and then revising until complete.
It was music that brought her and her beloved husband together. Val sang a very fine tenor; Lucy, a very fine alto. Both sang with their families and in quartets, choruses, choirs, and both conducted music in church programs. Their children continue that musical heritage.
Lucy had other interests as well: quilting, rug braiding, gardening, photography (and preserving her family’s history from the civil war to the present in photo albums). She was an active member of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for 44 years, 20 of which were in the Wasatch Range Chapter. She and her husband were known for their generosity and selfless service. And she was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in the Primary, the Relief Society, the Sunday School, and as Librarian.
In 1946 Lucy and family moved from Colorado to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her husband taught music in the elementary schools and Lucy worked as clerk at Fried’s Department Store. Upon retirement, they moved to Spanish Fork, Utah. After her husband’s death, she moved to Willowwood Apartments in Sandy, Utah, and then in 2005 she moved to Springville to be with her daughter.
Lucy is survived by her five children: Loris (Darwin) Hayes of Springville, Utah; Donna (Kay) Ferrin of Safford, Arizona; Chester (Sheron) of Amarillo, Texas; Dennis (Rebecca) of Rock Hill, South Carolina; and Nan (Edward) Hill of West Jordan, Utah; and 24 grandchildren, 75 great grandchildren, 19 great great grandchildren. Her older brother, Charles LeRoy Mathias (still playing his saxophone and who will be 101 in February, 2011) lives in Nipomo, California.
Lucy was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, younger brother Frank David Mathias, granddaughter Valinda Ferrin, and great granddaughter Amelia Ferrin.
Funeral services will be at 12:00 noon on Saturday, January 29, 2011, at the Springville Third Ward (350 East Center) in Springville, Utah. (Viewing from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 28, 2011, at Walker Mortuary, 187 South Main, Spanish Fork, Utah, and at the Springville Center Street Chapel from 11:00-11:45 a.m. prior to the services. Burial will be in the Spanish Fork Cemetery (420 South 400 East).
In her concern for the homeless and the less fortunate, Lucy requested that, in lieu of flowers, financial donations be made to Friends of the Coalition, P.O. Box 1222, Provo, Utah 846033, or be taken to Food and Care Coalition, 299 East 900 South, Provo, Utah, 84606.
The family expresses appreciation to the people of Walker Mortuary, and their love and thanks to the many Springville Third Ward sisters of the Relief Society who helped care for Lucy, and to the many, many care givers from Hospice Specialists, Aspen Care, and Cora Campbell
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