Joy Fay Barnett Hanson passed away peacefully at home in East Carbon, Utah surrounded by her family on the evening of February 28, 2024 after a long battle with intestinal cancer. She was 77 years old.
Joy made her way into this world with her twin brother, Roy, in Price, Utah to parents John and Nell Graham Barnett on January 12, 1947 and was raised in Hiawatha, Utah. Stories of growing up in Hiawatha always sounded romantic in a way that seemed like good, old-fashioned fun when pint-sized coal miner’s kids would pack a potato to bake for lunch and play on the mountain all day, scratching up knees, playing hide and seek, along with good-natured teasing from one’s brother, sister, or cousin, only to return home just before sunset for dinner. Joy and her brother, Roy, were second to youngest in a pack of eight siblings: five sisters and three brothers, all resembling each other so well that they were all unmistakably a part of the Barnett clan that lived in Hiawatha. They grew up with double-cousins Thelma, Floyd, Albert, and another set of twins, Judy and Joan.
When Joy was just 16 years old, she, with her friend Carol, were employed at her first job at a restaurant on Soldier Summit. She worked several summers there, where she eventually met her first husband, Darryl Carter. She was married at just 19 years old and was whisked away to Levan, Utah where they raised their two heathen daughters, Amber and Sabrina. Living in Levan involved more fun times on a mountain, snowmobiling, hunting, and riding horses. Darryl died at the young age of 37 after a series of heart attacks, when Amber and Sabrina were just three and five. Joy bravely raised the girls on her own, working odd jobs at places like the Levan Cafe and a pottery store.
A few years later, Joy was ready to get back into the dating game, when she was told about a guy named Duane Hanson. She prayed that he would not be wearing checkered bell bottoms when she met him, and because God has a sense of humor, he was. That mop of hair and checkered bell-bottomed man became her husband just a mere five months later, in June of 1984. Duane and Joy first lived in Price, Utah, and worked at the Helper rescue mission witnessing about Jesus’ saving grace.
A year later, they moved to East Carbon, Utah, where Duane pastored the East Carbon Community Church for eight years. Their daughter, Bethany, was born when they first moved to East Carbon, and East Carbon was, for the most part, their home base. Joy enjoyed working at the East Carbon Clinic for nearly 20 years as a cleaner. She was quite the socializer and made friends with many people who came through the ECC Church and through her time at the clinic. She was a connector of people, and she made them feel like family. It did not go unnoticed by her family of how many friends Joy had acquired over the course of her life as many of them came to visit her in her final days.
While Joy enjoyed her friends and loved them dearly, her family was what was most important to her. Two of Joy’s favorite people were her grandchildren, Ayden and Karlie. To hear her talk about them was to hear her brag about them. Her devoted daughters will miss her dearly, and they will never forget all of the unsolicited advice she gave them, her stories of growing up in Hiawatha, her amazing cooking skills, her hearty laughter, and, most of all, having a cup of coffee with her and talking about life.
She would want her witness of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection to be what people remember most about her.
Joy is survived by her daughters, Amber (Jason) Decker, Sabrina Carter, and Bethany (Mike) Alberda; grandson, Ayden Rizzi and granddaughter Karlie Goulding; sisters, Helen Garr, Pearl Oliver, Norma Pickup, and Dorthy (Ryan) Hansen; brother, Andy (Wilma) Barnett; and sisters-in-law, Lynda and Jerri Barnett, DeAnne Malnaa (Monte), and Iretta Hanson.
She is preceded in death by her parents, John and Nell Barnett; first husband, Darryl Carter; second husband, Duane Hanson; and brothers, Roy and John Barnett.
Funeral service, Monday, March 4, 2024, 11:00 a.m., East Carbon Community Church (501 Hwy 123, East Carbon, UT 84520), where the friends will receive friends beginning at 10:00 a.m. Interment, East Carbon City Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price and Huntington where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories of Joy online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.
Family and friends are welcome to a meal at the EC Community Church directly following the graveside.