Joan Attridge Johnston

Joan Attridge Johnston, 88, of Riverton, Utah, passed away on July 23rd, 2023. She is survived by her husband, Jack Johnston; her children, Chris Johnston (Cheryl), Lane Kent (Jovetta), Wane Kent-Johnston (Lisa), and Susan Nelson (Steve); her siblings Bill Attridge (Lynn), Bob (Betty) Attridge, and David (Julie) Attridge; her grandchildren Parker (Kate), Eric, Levi, Isabel, Beth (Scott), Allison, David, Hannah (Aaron), and Nick (Setareh); 24 nieces and nephews; and her great-grandchildren Dean, Lilly, Quinn, Zander, and Leyla. She was preceded in death by her parents, William James and Thelma Marie Attridge; and her sister June (John) Hubbard.

Joan was born on December 30, 1934, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to parents William James (Bill) and Thelma Marie. She grew up in an old-fashioned country home with her 4 siblings, and they had an adventurous childhood together. Joan and her siblings (referred to as the Attridge 5) spent summers outside at Grassy Lake Camp, often running into hungry bears. The family moved from site to site, as their father worked on supervising various dam building projects. Joan and her siblings loved to play pretend. She said her job was to gather ammunition and play nurse for their battle re-enactments. Joan also remembers the children helping to recycle materials during rationing to help with the war effort during World War II. She also recalls them being scared stiff by radio shows like "The Shadow" and "The Creeking Door." In her alone time, Joan took up sewing and playing the baritone sax in her high school band.

Joan highly valued education. Joan studied Health and Nutrition at BYU, becoming a registered dietitian at one point and the Food Service Director at Pacific Hospital in Long Beach at another. She also earned her Master's Degree in Family Therapy, mostly using it on her own family. Joan never hesitated to speak her mind, and is fondly remembered as having a strong personality. She was an open communicator and known for her strong force of will. As an adult, she continued to love being outdoors with her family, camping, visiting the ocean, picking blueberries, and hiding from the rain with games of "Life" and "Speed."

Joan was a life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her favorite holiday was Pioneer Day, as she just loved church history. She was famous for family reunions with fireworks and BBQ for all. Joan was firmly committed to the cause of family history, even serving for several years with Jack in Salt Lake City's Family History Center. Jack describes family history as Joan's main motivation in life. She found over 4000 names in her direct line and was finally starting to have a hard time finding more. Joan now gets to meet the ancestors she loved so much, and worked so hard for to have spiritual experiences together in the temple.

Joan met her husband Jack after he converted to the church. He was soon called to the bishopric. He was extending a calling to her, which she agreed to. He then said "Well, since you are saying yes to things, will you marry me?" Joan agreed. She married her "honey bear" Jack on October 13, 1982 in Cypress, CA. They had 41 happy years together. They loved watching Westerns, and never missed the nightly rerun of The Waltons. As a family, they enjoyed camping, nature, racquetball, and even a bit of dancing. When Jack first came to her house for a party, he saw shelves full of rocks. He thought, "Well, she can't be too bad if she likes rocks." The couple would go on to collect various rocks and stones, and explore the great outdoors together. They would take family to Grand County to search the hills for rocks, stopping at rock stores along the way. Joan loved to explore, whether on foot or in the car. She and Jack took walks and drives together often, and Joan was known for seeing a road off in the distance and wondering out loud where it went. Sometimes, she and Jack would drive it just for fun. Now she is off on another adventure to the heavens above. We know she'll love exploring it and will be waiting to show Jack and the rest of the family all her favorite spots when they join her someday. After all, families are forever.