Bessie Johnson

St. George, UT – Bessie Ann Cawley Johnson, 97, passed away on January 3, 2016, at her home in St. George, UT. She was born on July 12, 1918 in Idaho Falls, ID to Richard Cawley and LaVerne Hales Cawley.  She married Howard Johnson in Las Vegas, NV on May 30, 1941. Howard passed away in May, 1984.

Bess grew up in Los Angeles, CA, where she graduated from Belmont High School. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bess & Howard lived in San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland, West Sacramento, Castro Valley, and Santa Monica, CA. While her children were in elementary school, she did secretarial work in her home. She was also active in the PTA.  Bess later worked for many years as a corporate and legal secretary for Lear Siegler, an aerospace firm in Santa Monica. She loved to read mysteries and biographies, and enjoyed watching musicals. After she retired she volunteered at Grant Elementary School, across from her home, reading to children. She also was a volunteer at the Santa Monica Red Cross for 14 years.

The last 17 years of her life she lived with her son Dale and his family in Springfield and Cincinnati, OH, as well as St. George, UT.  She was lovingly cared for by Dale and his wife, Winni, during that time.  Bess enjoyed playing with her grandchildren and helping them with reading during their growing-up years.

Bess enjoyed traveling. She made friends easily and loved to visit on the phone with good friends from her childhood, whom she kept in contact with regularly, as well as friends she made in places she and Howard had lived.

When she was 95 she was asked, what is the most important thing you most want people to remember about you? Her reply was 3-fold:

* That I loved life and have enjoyed all of it even though some of it was sad and difficult.

* I didn’t realize while I was growing up that I was very poor because everyone around us was too.

* We had love and respect for each other and tried to do whatever we could for others.

Bess is survived by her two sons, Dale (and Winni) Johnson of St. George; Gordon (and Leslie) Johnson of Lake Arrowhead, CA; 14 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren living in Ohio, California and Utah.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 16, 2016, at the LDS Santa Monica First Ward building, 2301 - 2nd Street, Santa Monica. Interment will be at 10:00 am at Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica.