Just 24 days shy of his 89th birthday, Roger Val Johnson passed from this life to the next on November 18, 2016, in Price, Utah, from the effects of a stroke.
Val was born to Arthur William and Julia Hulda Christensen Johnson in Elsinore, Utah, on December 11, 1927. He grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s (during which his family moved to Price, Utah) and the war years of the 1940s, learning the value of work, financial frugality, and close family ties. At the end of World War II, he joined the United States Navy and served on a destroyer patrolling the Mediterranean Sea.
While on leave during his military service, he met Donna June Bentley in Price, and following his honorable discharge from the Navy the two married on March 21, 1949, in Elko, Nevada. Two years later, on March 21, 1951, they were sealed for time and eternity in the Manti Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Shortly after their marriage, Val and June moved to Carbonville, Utah, where he built a house for his family. Val was soon called into the bishopric of the Carbonville Ward of the LDS Church. He later served for many years as a financial clerk for several LDS stake presidencies.
In the early 1950s, Val began working for Price Sheet Metal, where he learned to install furnaces and fashion the ductwork for them. In 1964 he started his own sheet-metal business, which he built into one of the most successful heating and air conditioning businesses in Southeastern Utah. He was known as a hard-working man of integrity who always provided quality work and took care of his customers, even when it was personally or financially inconvenient. Many widows and elderly couples were blessed by Val’s generosity and willingness to help.
Val loved his family and enjoyed spending time with them on hunting, camping, fishing, and sight-seeing trips. These trips were often in company with extended family members. He made friends easily and enjoyed visiting with them.
In the late 1990s, Val’s wife began to suffer from serious medical problems, particularly dementia. As June’s health deteriorated, Val spent most of the last decade of their life together caring for her. After she passed away in 2008, he often expressed impatience at having not yet joined her in eternity.
Val is survived by 2 of his 4 siblings—Carvel (Cobb) ReNee Johnson, married to Bonnie DalPonte, and Joseph Lee Johnson, married to Tammy Davis. He is also survived by his 6 children—Randy Val, married to Dora Ojeda, of Sandy, Utah; Arthur Duane, married to Linda Marx, of Carbonville, Utah; Larry Scott, married to Coreena Hamaker, of Miller Creek, Utah; Donna Fae, married to Donald Francisco, of Enoch, Utah; Terry Alan, married to Cherilyn Atwood, of Spring Glen, Utah; and Julie Ann, married to Gordon Mathis, of Spanish Fork, Utah. At the time of his passing, Val had 30 grandchildren and 51 great-grandchildren.
Preceding him in death were his parents and his brothers Douglas Arthur Johnson and Gary Michael Johnson.
Considering his faith in Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, Val’s reunion with his beloved June, his parents, and other family members and friends awaiting him in the Spirit World must surely be a joyous one.
Funeral service: Tuesday, November 22, 2016, 11:00 a.m., Price 3rd LDS Ward (303 West 500 South) in Price. Family will receive friends at Mitchell Funeral Home (233 East Main Street) in Price Monday evening from 6:00-7:00 p.m. and at the church on Tuesday one hour before the service. Interment: Price City Cemetery. Arrangements are entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price, where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.