Janice Petersen Coon passed away Feb. 19, 2021, due to causes incident to age. She was 85 years old.
Janice was born to Marvin Petersen and Blanche Fenton on July 7, 1935, in Hunter, Utah. She attended Cyprus High School and met her husband, Evan Coon, whose family lived down the street from hers in Hunter.
Janice and Evan married Oct. 12, 1956, and they were sealed for time and eternity in the Logan Utah Temple on Jan. 9, 1963. They made their home in Erda, Utah, where they ran a farm and raised their family. Janice served in many callings in the Erda Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including as the ward librarian, nursery leader, and very faithful visiting teacher. Janice was a mainstay in the Erda community and tended many of the kids who lived around her. She loved to help elementary school kids with their reading as a volunteer. She served as the president of the Utah State Cowbelles (now known as the Utah Cattlewomen’s Association), and worked at the Tooele Junior High cafeteria and later at EG&G.
Janice was beloved by her family. She especially loved her many grandchildren and was up for anything they wanted her to do. Whether it was playing a round of Chinese Checkers, going out for lunch, letting her grandkids sing “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” to her during the family Christmas party, or accepting the title of “Grandma America” during an impromptu beauty pageant for grandmas (where she was the only contestant and the title was for life) – she was a great sport about all of it. Her personality was larger than life and she had a great sense of humor. The greatest accomplishment she had was that she was a wonderful grandma and we all loved her for it. She continued to be a light in her family’s life, even as dementia took its toll.
Janice is survived by her brother Lamar Petersen of San Antonio, Texas; sister-in-law Stella Aston of Twin Falls, Idaho; six living children Glade (Ladean) Coon, Shelley (Alan) Johnson, Joan (Kelly) Painter, Joe Coon, Paula (Red) Lee, and Terri (Bryant) Pehrson; as well as her son-in-law Stephen Campbell; “borrowed” daughter Lesa Worwood Knyte; 24 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Evan Coon, her parents, her brother Glade Petersen, her daughter Cindy Campbell, and her grandson Alexander Johnson.
The family would like to thank the staff at Cottage Glen Assisted Living, especially the staff of the Memory Care Unit, for their compassionate care of our mother and grandmother.
Funeral services for Janice will be held Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, at 1 p.m., at the LDS church building at 410 Shelley Lane, Grantsville, Utah, with a graveside dedication to follow at the Grantsville Cemetery.