June L Davidson

Our Sweet Grandma June, 100 years old, passed away peaceably Wednesday morning November 30th 2016. She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 7, 1916 and was the daughter of Danish immigrant Augustinus Pratt Goodmansen and English immigrant, Eliza Ann Jordan. They had 15 children. June was the tenth child. She has outlived all of her siblings.

She grew up with a happy childhood. She recalls those were very happy times. Her family owned a duplex on the corner of Kensington Ave. and 11th East. Shortly after June was born, they moved to a much larger home that her father had purchased on 1219 Windsor Street. The family was growing so rapidly that they expanded the house into ten or eleven rooms. This home is where most of her childhood memories occurred. The family was thrilled to have more room. They moved from this house when June was 10. Her father quit his job and found a job in typography for the local newspaper in Stockton, California. They hadn’t lived there very long when her father was struck by a car that was driven by a drunk driver when he was walking home from work. It was August of 1928 and June was 12 years old. June was devastated because she was very close to her father. That is when their lives changed dramatically.

They moved back to Salt Lake City where her older married siblings lived to get some help. Not only did they lose their father, but the depression hit right after. The depression was so hard and people were losing their jobs. It was very difficult on the family and June always had to wear hand me down dresses which were always too big. She didn’t have time for friends or a teenage life. She had a lot of responsibilities at home and had to grow up quickly. They didn’t have the luxuries they had before. It caused a great hardship for her mother and her family. Many of June’s older siblings were married, but their husbands were out of jobs too.

June, now being the oldest at home, had to go to work to help support the family. She often missed school or was very late. It was around that time that the child labor laws came to pass and June had to stop work in the mornings and go to school. She then would work after school. When she was in the 10th grade, it proved to be too much and she had to drop out of school.

During the summer when she was 16, she had to move in with her sisters to help them care for their children. She stayed there until she met James Ralph Davidson. He worked at a gas station that she lived by and he decided he wanted to meet her. He was there morning, noon, and night. They spent as much time together as they could. After 6 months of courting, Ralph wanted to marry her. He had to get permission from her mother because she was 17 years old. Her mother refused until he offered to pay rent and live upstairs. So they got married that day on November 22, 1933. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 7th, 1944.

In June's words of memories of her childhood:

"Some things I remember during the Great Depression and the World War are as follows: "We had coal furnaces, coal stoves, a gas stove, but couldn’t afford to use it. Low hanging light bulbs, tokens, gasoline was $.15/gallon. I earned $.10-$.15/day for babysitting. Three small loaves of bread were $.10 for all three. Milk came in bottles, $.03 postage stamps, ice boxes, no air conditioners. Liberty Park had free swimming, so we went as often as we could. If we did manage to have enough money to go to a good show, we went to the Gem Theater or a place like that because it was cheaper. We used to ride trains, now we ride airplanes. We used cans and string to talk on the “phone” (we did have a real phone in the house). But we did have walkie-talkies. We played hide-and-seek, hop-scotch, jacks, Cat in the corner, Button-Button, Run-sheep-Run, and had puppet shows. We always played outside."

They had 3 children, Bob, Jim, and Shari. They loved to go camping together as a family and take road trips. She said that she loved to just take a drive together up the canyons. They enjoyed going to Saltair, in the open air Train, Liberty Park, dancing, and many other things.

She worked at various different jobs throughout her life. She tells of her different job experiences: "I worked at various jobs. Once the depression hit I always tried to find a job or a way to earn money. I would babysit or clean houses. I worked at the Bishops Building cleaning in the evening, and dusting in the morning. I remember one job I had where I delivered ice for people’s ice boxes. I delivered milk and drove the milk truck standing up. I also worked as a secretary and bookkeeper for a sewing company and then a construction company. I like that job very much. After my husband and I decided to retire, we took several enjoyable trips in our motor home for which I am so very grateful."

Her last job before she retired was with the Sid Horman and the Pepperwood Group, where she was hired to be a bookkeeper by the Bishop Bromley,s Father in law. She loved that job.

June and Ralph served a LDS Church Mission to the Cambodian people in Salt Lake Valley. She was a temple worker in the Oakland and Sacramento Temples. She also served as a Counselor in the Primary and Relief Society Presidencies and faithfully accepted many callings that she was ever asked to do.

While in her 60’s June taught herself to play the organ and then she continued to challenge herself by learning to tap dance, to square dance, to round dance and to folk dance. She joined a traveling dance group with Ralph and performed with them for several years at parks, civic centers and senior homes all in Utah and Elko, Nevada. She learned to ski with her daughter and she also learned to paint and create a variety of landscape and western scenes. She did all these before she was 70 years old.

June tells of her accomplishments that she is proud of: "Some of my greatest accomplishments are my family. Being a mother and grandmother has always been important to me. Serving a mission with my husband for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a highlight. Teaching classes in church is another accomplishment. I loved to teach because it helps me learn. Searching and doing family history is also an accomplishment. I learned to paint with oils. I learned to play my organ. When our three children were married, my husband and I missed having them near and had the opportunity to take six foster children to raise. We loved the opportunity because it kept us on our toes and it especially kept us young."

In 1984 she and Ralph moved to their daughter Shari’s hometown in Novato, California to help with the care of a teenage granddaughter, Jenny who was in a coma. With help from June, Jenny finally came out of the coma, but remained a non-verbal speaking quadriplegic. Helping Jenny find ways of non-verbal communication and continual daily care over a period of 10 years was a gift of love and service for her family.

Ralph's health declined and then moved to Citrus Heights, California. She was able to help with Jenny and care for Ralph. After 63 years of marriage, Ralph died on April 27th 1997.

When June was still in her 80’s, she attempted to learn Spanish by copying in her own handwriting the entire Spanish edition of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. She did learn all the temple ordinances in Spanish, but she confessed that she did not learn to speak Spanish from this tenacious effort but was a great experience.

June explained her hobbies: "My hobbies are skiing, reading, painting, playing cards, crossword puzzles, and dancing. I learned to tap dance, ballroom dance, round dance, square dance, folk dance, and hula. I have loved to travel and spend time with my family."

She loved to play cards, her favorite being Rummy and “Mormon Bridge” with the grandkids. She was always open to learning new games. She was always excited to play games no matter what time it was and she would generally win. She loved music, rhymes, and anyone that was willing to perform for her.

Her secret to longevity: Here is what she said, "My secret to longevity? Well, I would say it is to dwell on the positive. When you think positive, you live positive. Keep away from drugs, smoking, addictive drinks, and alcohol. Exercise and eat good foods. Look for the good in others. Treat others with respect, even if they don’t deserve it."

June is survived by her three children, Robert(Bob)Duane Davidson, James (Jim)Glen Davidson and wife Nelda, Sharon(Shari)June Morgan-Kotila and husband Roger. She has a wonderful posterity of 16 grandchildren, 60 Great grandchildren, 31 Great-Great grandchildren. After her children were out of the home Grandma June and Grandpa took in three foster children, Gayle, Jan and Jim Eskridge; and after that, they took in three Barlow Sisters, Julie, Sharon and Leslie. There are many more who call her Grandma.

One of her greatest attributes was her positive attitude toward being happy and not dwelling on the negative, even though she knew it exists. She said that the Lord had touched her heart throughout her life and that made her humble. When asked if she would change anything in her life, she said she would be a little kinder, more relaxed and love people more. Her family was her jewels.

She was a wonderful, kind Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and Great-Great Grandmother and friend. She will be greatly missed for her love and happiness that she brought into each of our lives and especially we will miss her strong testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ.