December 14, 1930 ~ August 6, 2010
Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma and Great-great-grandma left this world to be with the family and friends that have gone on before.
Clemma Hadden Arthur Johnson passed away August 6, 2010 at 3:20 p.m. at home in her favorite chair.
Mom was born on the Slade farm in Kline, CO on December 14, 1930, the middle child of eleven children. The family lived on the farm until Mom was 10, and then moved to Silverton, where she attended high school.
Mom went through the 11th grade before quitting to help support the family. She wanted to be a pilot, but could not get the training she needed.
Dad and Mom met in Silverton and were married in Aztec, NM in 1949. They quickly started their family of five children, Richard, Pam, Bruce, Doug, and Tammy.
The family moved back and forth between Colorado and California, following the work in the mining business. Dad was hurt in a mining accident in 1958 and was unable to work in the mines due to the onset of Arthritis.
So once again Mom went to work supporting the family. She started working for her sisters in Larry’s Cafe in Globe, AZ. After moving around some in Arizona, she and Dad moved the family to Bluff in 1965, where they bought the Turquoise Cafe and gas station.
Many from the Four Corners area would come to share the Mexican Food special on Saturday at the Turquoise. Mom worked the Turquoise Cafe from 5:30 a.m. till 9 or 10 p.m. for many years. She never complained about the hours or the work. She truly loved serving good food to good people.
After the children left home, she sold the cafe and moved to Salt Lake City to get her beauty license. At the same time, she got her GED and realtor license.
Mom had many interesting jobs to support herself, among which were Bluff Postmaster, water meter reader, school bus driver, heavy equipment operator, road flagger, and world famous cook. She ran the Twin Rocks Store and also the Sunbonnet Cafe.
None of the time Mom spent in this life was wasted. She also held almost every position in the Bluff Branch that a woman can hold. Her life was one of service to others.
Along with all the jobs she held, none was more important than being a Mother. Her posterity includes five children, 22 grandchildren, 80 great-grand children and one great-great grandchild. Five generations, WOW.
Bud died in 1969 after many years of pain from the disease rheumatoid arthritis. Mom remarried a few years later to Clarence Johnson, who was a friend of ours for many years. Clarence died some years later, leaving Mom alone again.
Mom spent some time in Bluff, living alone after Clarence’s passing. But that changed when she moved to Provo to live with Bruce and Patty. She dearly loved Bruce and Patty, but not being able to drive in the traffic of the big city took away her independence, so she moved back to Blanding to live in a trailer Pam’s sons set up for her.
Mom suffered a stroke on Friday, July 30 and passed on to her reward on Friday, August 6, surrounded by many loved ones. She was taken to her beloved Bluff and placed next to our Dad, Bud, to whom she was sealed in 1992 in the Jordan River Temple. She will be greatly missed by her many family members and friends.
