 1951 - 2016 (65 years) Submit Photo / Document
Has more than 100 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Mark Ken Johnson |
| Birth |
13 Sep 1951 |
Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
15 Oct 2016 |
Hiko, Lincoln, Nevada, United States |
| Burial |
21 Oct 2016 |
Holden, Millard, Utah, United States |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
10 Jul 2018 |
MANTI |
| FamilySearch ID |
LXT1-1BB |
| Person ID |
I42202 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Chester Rogers Johnson, b. 20 Jan 1920, Holden, Millard, Utah, United States d. 11 Dec 2007, Sunnyside, Nye, Nevada, United States (Age 87 years) |
| Mother |
Stella Vee Stott, b. 8 Nov 1922, Delta, Millard, Utah, United States d. 16 Feb 2006, Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States (Age 83 years) |
| Marriage |
17 Jul 1940 |
Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States |
| Family ID |
F9693 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- Life Sketch by Daughter Sandi Mason
I want to tell you a little bit about the man I spent a lot of time wi t h over the past 10 months. I am so grateful for the man that I get to c al l DAD!
Any of you that have called and talked to dad over the past year know th a t dad was never around for a long time…..he was just there for a good t im e! I will always hold that song dear to my heart. My siblings and I mi gh t have even called dads cell number just to hear it one more time ove r th e past week. In this life sketch, I hope that you can see just that ! No m atter what, dad always had a good time!
Mark Ken Johnson was born September 13, 1951 to Chester and Stella Johns o n in Fillmore Utah.
Dad grew up in Holden Utah with his 5 sisters Jerri, Pam, Diane, Ginge r , and Penni. and 1 brother Jeff.
Dad enjoyed spending time with his grandpa Mark, working on the farm, a n d being doted upon by his 4 older sisters!
Like all families the Johnson family had chores to do everyday. When th e y turned 10 years old they had the privilege of milking the cows by ha n d with a one leg stool, hobbles, and a bucket between their knees. Dad s o lder sisters did this everyday until they graduated. Well, when dad t urne d 10 years old, grandpa Chet purchased an electric milker and dad di dn' t have to milk by hand one time!
At the ripe old age of 13 dad was loaded up in the pickup with his ste e r in the back and grandpa Chet hauled them to Richfield to the Fair. Gr an dpa unloaded dad and the steer and handed dad a few nickles and told h i m that he would be back in 3 days to pick him up. As grandpa drove awa y D ad looked around, saw some boys that looked about his age and made li fe l ong friends from Wayne County. I guess that was the thing to do bac k then . These young men were in the same boat as dad. Together they pool ed thei r money, found a hotel room and had a little more fun than was pr obably e xpected.
As dad got a little older he borrowed grandpa Chets pickup (without perm i ssion) to meet his buddies in Fillmore. On discovering his missing tru c k grandpa became more and more angry and after dads curfew had long pas se d he was nearly beside himself. Dads sisters sat at the kitchen tabl e pl aying cards as grandpa recited all the (sue purrr la tives) he inten ded t o issue to dad when dad returned. (The girls thought dad warrante d suc h a chastisement as grandpa had been very strict with all his girl s and t he girls hadn't seen much sterness when it came to dad.) Dad fina lly walk ed through the back door well past curfew and grandpa said, “Had n’t ough t to do that again son” in the sweetest voice. Dad was truly a f avorite!
Whenever dad a an errand to run or a job to complete he loved to have so m eone with him. On one such day he needed to move some cattle and the we at her was terrible - splitting snow and cold wind howling, dad asked Gin ge r to come a long with him saying, “It will be fun” a phrase dad becam e kn own for. Dad was able to accomplish many more tasks in his life fro m th e help of others with these 4 simple words. “It will be fun!”
Dad was not very fond of school but he pushed through and graduated fr o m Millard High School in 1970.
A couple of months ago dad had me call and get his High School transcrip t s for some paperwork that we were putting together. I called to let da d k now that I had received the transcripts in the mail and he was so exc ite d and thanked me for getting them. I told him that I had opened the m an d looked them over. He said good. That will be good. We talked fo r a fe w more minutes and then hung up. It wasn't 2 minutes later and da d calle d me right back and said….”Did you say that you opened up those t ranscrip ts and looked at them?? Please don't let my grandkids see those !” We ha d a good laugh for a few days about them.
Dad married Linda Lu Shepherd in 1971 and together made there home in Ho l den Utah where they had Shelli and Scott. Later they moved to Aurora a n d had Sandi.
Dad loved having family around. There were many summers when nieces an d n ephews would come and stay with dad and he would put them to work a t th e Feedlot and helping around the farm.
One particular time that was shared with us illustrates just who dad wa s .
This is a story told by dads nephew Dale.
“I remember pushing the pit one afternoon and getting stuck with the tir e s buried in the silage. I stepped out of the tractor and saw that I pu t m yself into a real fix. i shut it down and slowly started walking bac k t o the shop to tell uncle Ken the dreaded news. Getting something tha t val uable stuck was new to me. My little mind thought this was irresolv able . He heard me out and then walked back to the pit with me. I think h e cou ld tell I was pretty worried about the situation .
He simply stated “i’ve never been stuck so bad that I couldn’t get out . ” I asked if we were going to need a helicopter. He laughed and then br ou ght over the other tractor and hooked up the cable. After some time, e ffo rt and several maneuverings he successfully pulled me out. I remembe r ho w relieved I felt when my tractor finally started backing up.
Since then, and from time to time, I’ve gotten stuck and seen other peop l e get stuck in life for a lot of different reasons. Many times I reflec te d on his confident and reassuring response in the pit that afternoon . Tha t was a valuable lesson he taught me that summer. He helped my focu s on t he solution and not the stuck.”
Dad married Tamra Curtis in 1982. Together they had Stetson and Kenze.
Dad did a tremendous amount of untold good for so many people. From sile n tly sponsoring kids at the Fair, putting forth money when times got ha r d for families, offering young men a job to learn the value of hard wor k.
Dad loved to reach out and help whenever the opportunity presented itsel f . One day dad gathered up a few of his nephews and his cleaned out hi s ca ttle trailer. Together they drove to Carson City Nevada to move hi s siste r back to Utah. As dad pulled into the neighborhood in Utah (wher e a catt le truck was clearly out of place) he noticed a few men standin g outside . Dad pulled along the side of them, rolled down his window an d said, “Se en any stray cattle?” The look on their faces was priceless a s they repli ed. “Um, no…. I haven't seen any!” Dad smiled drove off an d gave the nei ghborhood a sound with his air horn!
Dad was a prankster! He got a lot of mileage joking back and forth wit h h is sisters.
in the middle of the night dad received a phone call from his taxidermis t . He was informing dad that there had been a fire and all of dads Alask a n mounts were lost. Dad was sick! Shortly thereafter dad found out tha t h is mounts had not been lost, and there had been no fire. That it wa s hi s sweet sister and her husband getting dad riled up. Dad always ha d to st ay on the upper hand. A few months later that sweet sister receiv ed a dum p truck load of manure perfectly placed in her driveway.
If there is one thing that dad is famous for, its “if 1 is good, 10 is b e tter!” Dad lived by this rule. Whether it was shirts, boots, coats, hat s , INSULATORS, whatever it was that caught dads eye, he always had a fe w t o give away!
One particular time his sister Diane called and asked if she could g e t a couple of ball bearings from dad. Dad was more than willing to ge t he r some but decided that a truck load of them in her driveway would b e s o much better than just a couple!
During the year 2000 Dad moved to Las Vegas Nevada where he began worki n g for Freshener construction. Dad wasn’t very fond of his gated communi t y when they told him that he couldn’t have more than one pickup parke d a t his place, and that his 10 foot wooden pinsky bear would have to go . Da d began looking for a new location. During his travels back and fort h fro m Las Vegas to Sunnyside Ranch visiting his father. Dad grew quit e fond o n Pahranagant Valley.
In 2003 dad moved himself to Alamo Nevada. He nestled into his 2 acre pr o perty where his bear and all of his trucks were welcomed! Dad started h i s own feed business and loved selling to locals in town. Dad was alwa y s a people person and started selling hay in Las Vegas where he gaine d so me great clients and more importantly great friendships!
Dad loved to watch movies! He had his favorites that he watched over a n d over and over! One in particular was The Grinch. From this movie da d pu lled one of his famous lines…..anytime dad needed something accompli she d he would say, We need to go and get this done, “And when I say we , I m ean you”
Dad always talked highly of his good friends! As I would listen to dad t e ll me about his close friends over these past 10 months, I truly knew t ha t dad was surrounded by good people. Dad didn’t let too many people ge t r eally close to him, but the ones that did, dad truly admired and look ed u p too!
In 2013 Dad fulfilled a life long dream of owning his own ranch in Hik o N evada. Dad loved to spend his time working and making improvements o n thi s ranch. Dad loved to take his family there and enjoy time with the m i n a place he loved to be.
In 2015 dad became a brand inspector for the surrounding counties. Dad w o uld always tell us that he made nothing being a brand inspector, but t h e friendships he developed while doing it were priceless!
In January 2016 our lives were forever changed when we received the pho n e call from dad telling us that he had been diagnosed with esophageal c an cer. We spent the first month taking dad to different doctors trying t o f igure out what was going to be the best option for treatment .
In February dad began radiation and Chemotherapy treatments. As siblin g s each of us were able to take a week at a time and go stay with dad. D ri ving to and from St. George at 4 am, because dad HAD to have the earli es t appointment so he could get back home and make sure everything was o k t here, are treasured memories we will have forever!
In June we received great news that the treatments had worked and the ca n cer in dads esophagus was gone. Only to hear in the next sentence tha t i t had spread to other areas of his body. Dad never once complained o r gri mmaced at what he was facing. Although dad never let on for us to k now, H e knew that things weren't good. Dad got things in order and sol d his ran ch to a great friend of his. Although it was hard for dad to le t the ranc h go, he knew that he would not be able to give it the attenti on and car e that it needed.
In July dad started a 3 month trial chemotherapy treatment. Dad felt go o d and was able to take this treatment at home. I would continue to trav e l to St. George and meet dad every two weeks to see how the trial was w or king. Mid August dad really started to not feel very good. His level s kep t dropping at every appointment that we would go to. By September t he app ointments became weekly. The doctors were trying to figure out wha t was c ausing dads pain. Each week I would notice dad becoming more an d more exh austed. 2 weeks into doctors trying to figure things out I fin ally calle d the doctor and told him that dad was in tough shape. He aske d me wha t I talking about because when he asked dad how he was doing, da d told hi m great! Its all good. I feel good. I was able to get dad in th e next da y and run some tests. Dad was given some medicine to subside th e pain an d 3 days later we admitted him into the hospital .
Having the opportunity to go all all of dads appointments with him, nobo d y could understand just how bad dad was getting when I would tell them , b ecause whenever they would call and talk to dad he would always say , “i’ m good. I feel good.”
We are forever grateful for the last two weeks of dads life that we we r e able to spend right by his side. Even at the end dad was still makin g u s laugh!
A few things that will forever remind us of dad:
Lifesavers
Peanut M&M’s
Pickled Eggs
Dad always had a story to tell, it was just our job to figure out if i t w as true or not
Dad would always say, “That’s good, that’s one less thing to worry about”
Movies dad loved:
The Ultimate Gift
The Bucket List
As we have gone through dads things over this past week, we have come up o n some treasures.
We found numerous letters to dad from his sweet sister Diane. And at t h e end of each one it would say, “I hope to see you soon!’
Dad and Diane got there “soon” Sooner that we were anticipating. I a m s o grateful for the knowledge that I have of eternal families and th e oppo rtunity dad has to be with sister Diane!
I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to bear my testimony to dad b e fore his passing. I pray that he will remember the great moments tha t w e had together, as i will cherish them for the rest of my life!
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Has more than 100 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
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