Jo Ann Johnson

She was born on October 19th, 1943 to James and Betty Johnson in Birmingham, Alabama. Her father was an officer in the Marine Corps so they moved many times during her childhood. She loved animals and nature and spent much of her time outside learning about the natural world.

After graduating high school, she attended Old Dominion College as a geology major. She had a particular fascination with mineralogy. She met her first husband at ODC (now Old Dominion University). They married in 1964 and moved across the country to California. After the death of her first husband in 1968, she married and divorced three more times. She moved to Utah in 1972.

Over the years, she worked at many different types of jobs. These included being a chemist at the Ticaboo uranium mine, an MSHA instructor, and working at a turkey processing plant. But the majority of her working life was working at pet stores.

She had a proclivity for collecting, labeling, and organizing things. She had a very large mineral collection, collections of snakes, of lizards, of poison dart frogs, of leaves, of shells, and of fossils. She also was an avid carpenter, constructing many animal cages, a complete upstairs at one of her houses, desks, tables, and her bed. She was very accomplished at quilting, cross stitch, and knitting.

She is survived by her children Susan (Manny) Espinoza, Duane (Holly) McCully, David (Kara) Hartman, Michael Espinoza, Heather (Kendle) Masterson, and Manuela Rose (Landon) Rugh. She has 21 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. She is survived by her brother, David George Johnson. Her brother, Glen Ralph Johnson, preceded her in death.

There will be a viewing on Friday, December 13, 2024 at 12 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 4737 W 4100 S, West Valley City, UT 84120. Funeral services will begin at 1:00 p.m. She will be buried at Valley View Memorial Park, 4335 W 4100 S, West Valley City, UT 84120, on Friday, December 13, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.