Betty Lou Johnson passed quietly away Saturday evening, November 7, 2020, in Preston, Idaho. She had recently celebrated her 94th birthday.
She was born September 18, 1926, in Huntington, Utah, the first of eight children born to her parents, Lavon and Aileen Powell. She grew up in the small town of Huntington, and it was there that she met a handsome young man named Tedd (Buck) Johnson. Buck and Betty fell deeply in love and were married in the Salt Lake Temple on September 28, 1944. It was a love story that would last for over sixty years. They built a small home in Huntington and lovingly raised a family of six very active boys.
Betty taught them the gospel by her wonderful example, by her faith and prayers, and by being right in the middle of all of their activities and adventures. Her heart was filled with love and pride as each of them grew up strong and faithful in the gospel and was married in the temple to a wonderful wife. She cherished every new child as the families began to grow. Betty served faithfully in many church callings and leadership positions in the Primary, the Young Women, and the Relief Society. In her 80s, she was still serving faithfully as a teacher in the Young Women’s Program and as a Greeter (and hugger) at Sunday meetings.
Her husband Buck played guitar and sang, and early in their marriage Betty began to harmonize and sing with him. They delighted people in many places as they sang together at a multitude of events for over forty years. Betty also loved writing poetry, and her poems of the beauty she saw around her, the love she had for her family, and her devotion to her Heavenly Father were put in binders and given to her children. These beautiful poems are treasured by her family, especially now that she has gone.
Betty and Buck enjoyed taking drives together, especially to Yellowstone where they spent many weeks each year camping in their old van and seeing the amazing animals of the park. They remained in Huntington until 1993 when they finally decided to sell the little home they had lived in for forty-three years and move to Preston, Idaho where their sons Corey and Tylor and their families lived. They loved living in Preston and enjoyed family, new friends, the church, and driving around the area to see the beautiful scenery and animals.
Betty loved life and enjoyed great happiness with her many friends and loved ones. But she also experienced great sorrow in the loss of her parents, two sisters, three brothers, a beloved son, two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. In 2006, after sixty-two years of marriage, she lost her cherished husband, Buck. She was comforted in her sorrow by her family, and by her prayers and faith in a Loving Heavenly Father.
Betty is survived by five sons and their wives, Randy and Betsy Johnson, Michael and Mary Johnson, Garth and Peggy Johnson, Corey ( deceased) and Penny Johnson Dalley, Jeff and Jennifer Johnson, Tylor and Claudia Johnson, and by twenty-six grandchildren, seventy-one great grandchildren, one great, great grandchild, and her two sisters, Joan Hammar and Vickie Leslie.
Graveside services will be held in the Preston Cemetery on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Viewings will be held Wednesday, November 11, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and Thursday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Webb Funeral Home, 1005 S. 800 E. Preston, Idaho. Interment will be in the Preston Cemetery. Memories and condolences may be shared at: webbmortuary.com
Betty was dearly loved by each of her children, by her daughters in law, by her grandchildren, and by her friends and the wonderful members of the First Ward. We will miss her smiles, her laugh, her many cards and letters, and her loving hugs. And we will especially miss her unconditional love and her faith and prayers that kept us close and safe.