Patsy Carol Orton Johnson

Salt Lake City, UT—Our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, Patsy Carol Orton Johnson, passed away on March 23, 2026 in her home following a courageous three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Patsy was born March 17, 1944 in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado. She was the oldest of Ruth Louise Haglund and Clifford Tosten Orton’s four children. She grew up with her family in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin where her father was a large animal veterinarian.

As a child, Patsy loved to ride her bike to a nearby lake where she learned to swim. She loved the water and got her Red Cross water safety instructor certification to teach swimming. She taught canoeing at summer camps in Wisconsin. Patsy was actively involved with Girl Scouts of America from the age 8 through age 20 when she travelled to the Philippines to represent the USA for the Experiment in International Living Program.

Patsy won a county-wide Monarch Range scholarship to attend Wayland Academy, a four-year college prep high school. She played field hockey and was a member of the synchronized swim team. She attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison where she earned a degree in physical therapy. A member of the Hoofers Outdoor Club, Patsy took a ski trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was there she met a fellow badger, a handsome young Ph.D. Student named Ramon Johnson, with whom she fell in love.

Patsy and Ramon were married on June 11,1966 in Hopkins, Minnesota. They spent their honeymoon paddling in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. Ramon was hired as a professor of Finance at the University of Utah. One of his early assignments was to teach MBA students in Cambridge, England and Wiesbaden, Germany where they became first-time parents to their daughter, Margit. During this time, Patsy was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The young family was sealed in the London Temple while Ramon was completing his teaching assignment in England.

Upon returning to Salt Lake City, Utah, Patsy and Ramon chose a home in the Avenues close to the university campus. They welcomed four more beloved children to their family: Erik, Julia, Camille, and Lars. Patsy’s life was busy tending to her family’s needs, serving in various church callings, helping with her children’s schools and sports, and community involvement. She cooked meals from scratch and sewed creative Halloween costumes. She grew vegetables and planted flowers. An avid reader, Patsy read to her children and loved learning with her book club friends. She furthered her education by earning a master's degree at the University of Utah in Manual Therapy. She used this knowledge to help her patients while working in Neuro Rehab as a physical therapist at the University of Utah Medical Center.

Patsy had a lifelong interest in family history. She researched her own and Ramon’s family lines for decades, first writing letters to her aunts and uncles to acquire photographs and information. With money she made as a physical therapist, she hired professional genealogists to help her find more ancestors. Patsy learned their stories and shared the information with family. She traveled with her father to Norway from whence he hailed. With Ramon, she traveled to Denmark, Sweden and Poland to walk on the lands their ancestors once walked. She happily shared her knowledge with friends, helping them research their own family lines.

Patsy’s family loved backpacking and river running. They camped under the Utah stars and hiked trails that would one day become famous to tourists. She and Ramon taught their kids to love nature and to have joyous times skiing Park City and waterskiing Lake Powell and Bear Lake. Patsy and Ramon purchased a pioneer farmhouse made of volcanic rock in Glenwood, Utah. They spent many weeks fixing banisters, painting, and improving the property. Together, they maintained two large vegetable gardens. Patsy spent hours bent over to harvest fresh vegetables. She’d wash and bag them for her neighbors and church friends, earning the title Carrot Angel.

Patsy and Ramon believed strongly in eternal families. She is survived by her children: Margit (Bill) Caine, Erik (Rebecca) Johnson, Julia (Aaron) Whitehead, Camille (David) Larsen, and Lars (Dyan) Johnson, 19 dear grandchildren, and one precious great granddaughter. She is survived by her brothers Clifford Orton (Andrea), brother-in-law Brian Pinto-Orton, and brother Thomas John Orton. Patsy is preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Ramon Eskel Johnson, her parents Ruth and Clifford Orton, her sister, Nancy Pinto-Orton, and her niece, Claire Pinto-Orton.

The family wishes to thank the many skilled doctors and surgeons who guided Patsy’s care. They also thank her angel neighbors and friends, Fernando Enriquez, William Glad/Kristi Diamond/Rosa Camacho with Aspire Home Health and Hospice, Ruthann Veimau, and the providers at Visiting Angels for their loving assistance to Patsy.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 31 at 10:00am in the Ensign Stake Center, 135 A Street in Salt Lake City, Utah with a viewing at 9:00-9:45 that morning. Friends may call the evening prior, Monday, March 30 from 6-7:30 at the Stake Center. Interment will follow at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Utah Symphony/Opera. The services will be streamed via Zoom for those unable to attend, please click on the "Watch Services" or follow the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87263458646