Betty Marie Johnson Mckell

Betty Marie Johnson was born at home in Spanish Fork, UT in February, 1926. Betty was the second daughter and eighth child of what would be eleven total children born to William Marcus Johnson and Myrtle Manning Hardy. Betty succumbed to the effects of pancreatic cancer on February 15, 2012, after a determined and fierce fight.

As did all her siblings, Betty grew up to be self-sufficient, thrifty, and organized as a consequence of her large family of modest financial means. She was an excellent cook, hostess, seamstress, home decorator, and she had a beautiful singing voice. She and her sisters often sang together at various functions when she was growing up.

After graduating from high school, she went to Salt Lake City and attended LDS Business College until she was drawn to the World War II work force as a secretary. She met the love of her life, Cyrus Milo McKell, of Payson, UT, when her supervisor, Jean Marie McKell (Goodwin), set them up on a blind date. After her first date with "Cy," she came home and told her brother, Roland, "I am going to marry that guy." Betty and Cy were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 16, 1947.

Betty continued her secretarial work to put Cy through his bachelors and masters degrees at University of Utah, with a year in between in Tabiona, UT, where he was principal of the little Tabiona High School. During the Korean War, they lived in San Antonio, TX while Cyrus served in the Army Air Corp. She continued to support her sweetheart through his doctorate degree at Oregon State College (now university). While in Corvallis, OR, their first daughter, Meredith, was born.

After Cyrus attained his Ph.D., they moved to Davis, CA where Cyrus worked for the USDA at the Davis campus of University of California. While there, Brian was born. In 1961, the family moved south to Riverside, CA, for Cy to assume the Chairmanship of the Agronomy Department. The next summer, in 1962, John was born. During the family's tenure in Riverside, Cyrus took his first sabbatical year in Madrid, Spain, with the whole family. A year after returning from Spain, Cyrus accepted an offer to chair the Range Science Department at Utah State University in Logan, UT. Betty and Cyrus returned to their Utah roots in 1969.

Over the years, Cyrus's consulting enabled him and Betty opportunities to travel to over 25 countries together, including East and West Germany, Spain, France, England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy, Brazil, Egypt, and another half-year sabbatical in Kitale, Kenya. While Cyrus's travels took him away from home almost every month for thirteen years, after he retired, he cared for Betty, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 53, for exactly thirteen years until his untimely death in May, 2009.

Betty was proud of her determination and independence. Until her recent death to pancreatic cancer, she never gave in to a wheelchair, but continued to walk, first with a cane, then with a walker, until she was confined to bed at the end of November. She felt fortunate to be able to maintain her strength and mobility and to be able to function on her own, however, this was not by accident: She exercised every day until she chose to go on hospice care in January, 2012.

Betty is survived by her three children, Meredith McKell Graff (Eugene), an attorney in Vancouver, WA; Brian M. McKell (Silvia), an attorney in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and John C. McKell (Jana), a senior software engineer in Mendon, UT. She has ten grandchildren. Meredith's children are: Ralph David Eccles, Leah Marie Eccles Watson (Jeffrie), Robert McKell Eccles (Stephanie), and Elizabeth Eccles Taylor (Jeremy); Brian's children are: William Brian McKell, and Daniel Marcus McKell; and John's children are: Travis John McKell, Charlotte McKell, Scott Gary McKell, and Taylor Markus McKell. She has five great-grandchildren: Brom Eccles (David's son), Logan and Mackenna Eccles (Rob's children), Trystan Watson (Leah's son), and Katelyn Nancy Taylor (Elizabeth's daughter). Another great-granddaughter, Rowan Watson, is due on March 12, 2012 to Leah and Jeffrie Watson. Betty is additionally survived by her sisters, Marion Parduhn and Donna Johnson (Richard), and her brothers, Ray Johnson, and Paul Johnson. She is preceded in death by her soulmate, Cyrus, her sister, Norma Schultz, and brothers, Blaine, Roland, Glen, Allen, and Reed Johnson, and her parents. There was great joy on the other side at her arrival, none more joyful than Cyrus, however!

The family cannot adequately express their profound gratitude to Senior Helpers, which provided her live-in care along with her favorite caregiver, Judy Oxley; Charles S. Fehlauer MD, and the caring professionals and staff at Holladay Healthcare Center, which has been her home since late November, 2011, and Rashelle Van Wagner, Lisa, and Heidi with Symbii Home Health and Hospice, who have cared for our mother with such love, empathy, and dedication.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at the Valley View 11th Ward, 4101 South 1925 East. Friends and family can visit Friday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 South 2300 East, and at the church Saturday morning from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. prior to the service. Graveside dedication at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. following the funeral. Messages and tributes to the family can be posted at: www.holbrookmortuary.com