Juanita Olive Gordon Llewelyn passed away peacefully on June 12, 2024, in the care of loved ones at The Wellington Assisted Living Center in Salt Lake City, Utah with her daughters’ goodbye kiss and loving whispers of thoughts of days gone by, her son Brad by her side. Mom had a grin of happiness across her lips and a twinkle in her eye, knowing that Dad would be there to receive her into eternity.
Nita was born January 18, 1942, a coal miner’s daughter in Price, Utah to Byrd Amos Gordon and Dorothy Jensen Gordon Livingston on a cold January day. She was the oldest sibling of sister Kathy, brother Rand, and baby Scott.
Mom was a graduate of Carbon High School Class of 1960. She and Dad met while she was still attending high school and were married five days after she turned 18. Living in Dragerton, Utah, they later moved to Ogden and then to Kaysville before ultimately settling down in Sandy, Utah. Mom supported Dad as he managed grocery stores in each of these locations. While raising four sons and a daughter, mom also worked for the Bureau of Land Management for close to 30 years as a contract specialist, taking care of various contracts and the needs of our Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management personnel. Mom would have the opportunity of going on wildfires and writing contracts to protect our beautiful forests, an opportunity that she enjoyed.
Mom was a wonderful cook; her specialties included meat pies, macaroni and tomatoes, lasagna, beef stroganoff and countless other wonderful meals that she and Dad provided. Many of her talents included sewing, stitching, and pottery, in which she would include her kids. Nita volunteered at St. Mark’s Hospital as a greeter; she so enjoyed her association with fellow co-workers and patrons. Dad and Mom also served a service mission for the Church in the employment aide mission in Midvale, Utah. Mom loved to camp and spent weeklong vacations showing her children the wild west from Custer’s last battlefield and Mount Rushmore to the grand redwood forest of the great Northwest. One of Mom’s and Dad’s favorite places and times were spent as a family at Gooseberry, camping, fishing, four-wheeler riding, and hearing the stream nearby. Walks around the block and the stern persuasion Mom and Dad espoused, they together raised a wonderful family, being providers and examples of hard work and the will to survive.
Mom, being a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she and Dad were sealed for time and eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple in March of 1973, raising four sons Tory, Brad (Alyce), Reed, Kevin (Julie) and the only daughter, Julie Chindlund (Chris).
Mom is preceded in death by her eternal husband, Bill Llewelyn; mother, Dorothy; father, Byrd; father-in-law, Bill Gramps Llewelyn; mother-in-law, Doris; baby brother, Scott, to whom I know she is happy to give a hug; and grandparents, cousins, and friends; what a reunion it will be.
She is survived by her five children; sister, Kathy (Terry) Cowley; brother, Rand (Tama); in-laws, Ned (Judy), Penny (Ruth), and Tammy; and many others cousins, relatives, and friends.
Mom and Dad were grandparents to 17 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, of whom they were so proud in so many ways. Mom and Dad supported countless dance recitals, sporting events, scouting achievements, school graduations, mission calls, weddings, piano recitals and all the wonderful things that came with being grandparents. Grandma Nita loved each of you with her whole heart. Her two youngest granddaughters, Olive and Milli, nicknamed grandma, “Baba.”
With a bushel and a peck and a hug around your neck, Mom, we love you and are blessed that you are our mother. God speed until we meet again! May a breeze of wind be at your back and the sunshine in your face. We love you!
We would like to thank the staff at The Wellington Assisted Living Center along with the great people of Canyon Hospice, especially Erika and all those that cared for mom and provided comfort these past two years. We are grateful for your love and kindness.
Funeral service, Monday, June 17, 2024, 10:00 a.m., Telford Ward Chapel (1834 East Creek Road (7995 South) Sandy, Utah) where the family will receive friends beginning at 9:00 a.m. Interment will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Price City Cemetery in Price, Utah. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price where friends are welcome to share memories of Nita online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.