Our amazing Mom and Grandmother, Great-grandmother, Matriarch and Friend to many – slipped away Sunday, the 12th of February, 2023, after a fall and surgery from which she never recovered. We will forever celebrate a life well lived and a family legacy well established. She was a great example, in word and in deed.

Mom was born December 14, 1934 in Salt Lake City, to Elmer Eugene and Ilta Gertrude Madsen Jonsson, to become the middle of three daughters, in between Jolyn and Mary. When Mom was seven months old, her family moved into their home on the Avenues. Their family life included travels to Logan, Preston, Bear Lake, Paris (Idaho!, not France), Bloomington, Hebgen Lake and West Yellowstone, to visit family and friends. Without a car radio, her father, whom they lovingly called “Daddy”, would sing as they traveled.

Mom attended Ensign Elementary, Bryant Junior High and then West High School. When she was 16 she met Dad who had recently moved back to Utah from the Los Angeles area and was enrolled there at West High. Dad always said the best part of West High was his acquaintance with Cornelia Jonsson. Mom described him as the nicest and most handsome guy at school. Their love story began….

They married in 1955 while both were attending the University of Utah. Mom joined the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, and maintained many lifelong “Alpha Chi” friends. She earned her “PHT” Degree – that of “Putting Hubby Through”. They worked hard as a team while he earned his degree and worked nights, and she worked and took care of four sons, ages five and younger.

Dad’s first job took us to San Diego in the Summer of 1961. Two daughters would join the family there, along with memories of San Diego Bay and chasing waves on Pacific Beach, and frequent trips to the San Diego Zoo. Elementary school band meant our house had the noise of practicing clarinet, trumpet and saxophone! Seven years later, in 1968, IBM moved us to Idaho Falls. New family traditions included all eight of us skiing – almost every Saturday in the winter at Grand Targhee. Summers we were tent camping, water skiing and fishing at Redfish Lake. Additionally, many evenings and Saturdays were spent at Blackfoot reservoir where we water skied and cooked burgers and hotdogs on a small charcoal grill–what great memories!!

Mom volunteered at the Idaho Falls Hospital – you know the sweet helpful Pink Ladies. Over time, she managed the gift shop and the floral shop. She eventually served a year as President Elect, and then President of the Auxiliary. Her Auxiliary associations at the Hospital included staff, Administrators and Physicians. She was offered full time employment working for two doctors overseeing and managing all of the patient interface with the Snake River Heart & Lung Clinic.

When Mom and Dad moved to Provo, she spent fifteen years at BYU as Assistant to the Dean of the Theater and Film Department. She particularly enjoyed working among college students and said it kept her young.
Mom also served as Docent for the Utah Symphony Elementary School Outreach Program. She recruited and trained more than forty Docents who traveled to many 5th grade classes and also accompanied the children to see a live symphony performance.

Mom loved to sew, and often fashioned clothes for us all when we were young, and dresses for Julie and Kristin through the years. In the bell-bottom days, when kids often placed denim triangles in their jeans, mom taught us how to do our own sewing for that effect.

Mom also loved to garden. She worked with a Landscape Architect to design amazing details for her homes. She planted annuals, perennials and fruit trees. At her current home, she finally got her dream – a small greenhouse to propagate plants that would provide color to the whole yard. Mom and dad worked hard together and enjoyed the beauty and fruits of their labors.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she served faithfully in Primary, Young Women’s, Sunday School and two rounds as Relief Society President. Mom and Dad were called and worked together as ordinance workers in the Provo Temple, an assignment they both treasured.

We six won the Mom Lottery. She was consistently caring, content, happy, optimistic, and patient. We had an idyllic childhood. Daily family dinners were delicious and connective. She often waited up until we were home from dates and activities. Her compassion as a mother was extended to grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She aged gracefully and kept us laughing and smiling with her short funny quips, songs and jigs. Her loving legacy will be carried on through her posterity and she will be greatly missed. We love you mom!

Mom is survived by children Scott Wilson (SLC), Steven (Debra) Wilson (Mapleton), Michael (Judith) Wilson, Mark (MaryAnne) Wilson (both of Spanish Fork), Julie (Steve) Lawson (Idaho Falls), and Kristin (Mark) Renauld (Greenwich, NY), brother-in-law John Hulme and sister-in-law Connie Wilson, 25 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren, with 2 more on the way. She was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, Jolyn Jonsson and Mary Jonsson, great-grandson, Hudson Garrett Harper and her sweetheart Ralph Wilson.

Funeral services will be held Friday, February 17,, 2023 at 11:00 am at the Mapleton 4th Ward Chapel, 1316 South Main Street, Mapleton, Utah. Family and friends may visit that morning from 10:00 am until 10:45 am prior to the service. Interment will be in the Provo City Cemetery.

Our family extends our deepest gratitude to her Ward and neighborhood family, and the healthcare workers at Heritage Gardens and iCare, for the compassionate service extended to her.

Services will be livestreamed.  Please return to this page shortly before 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 17, 2023 and click on the link below: