Mary Jeanne McGiven Johnson
Mary Jeanne McGiven Johnson
1947 – 2023
Mary Jeanne McGiven Johnson passed away from congestive heart failure on April 28, 2023, in Orem, Utah. She was surrounded by all her children, their spouses, and many of her grandchildren in the days leading up to her passing. She died as she lived, with a strength beyond comprehension and surrounded by a family singularly devoted to their mother and grandmother.
Mary Jeanne McGiven was born in San Francisco, CA, on August 22, 1947, to Grant Albert McGiven and Beatrice Lillian Child. Mary Jeanne had two brothers, Gary Grant McGiven and Fred Albert McGiven. Mary Jeanne grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and spent the majority of her life there until moving to Utah in 2007. Mary Jeanne attended Mountain View High School and graduated in 1965.
Mary Jeanne met Clifford Edward Johnson when she was 16 years old and began an eternal love affair. They were married on July 1, 1966, and were later sealed on June 30, 1967, for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City temple. Mary Jeanne and Cliff were married for almost 51 years prior to Cliff’s passing in 2017. As stated in 1 Corinthians 11:11, “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” Those who knew Cliff and Mary Jeanne never saw one without the other. Their children were blessed to witness their beautiful devotion, passion, and Christ-like service towards each other throughout their entire lives together.
Once Mary Jeanne and Cliff started dating, they never stopped. They made it a priority to go on dates every Friday night and when asked to give advice to newlyweds, they emphasized that date night made all the difference. When they were asked where they went for date night, Dad always said, “We go to the same place every week…wherever your mom wants to go.”
Mary Jeanne and Cliff had six children, Paul, Jeanna, David, Carrie, Matthew, and Amy, spanning 17 years. Mary Jeanne and Cliff raised their children in San Jose, California, on Sand Point Drive and then on Hathaway Court.
Mary Jeanne was a homemaker first and foremost and she provided daycare for several children. She also \worked at Steinbeck Middle School in San Jose as the school nurse. During her tenure, being a school nurse did not require any special training other than being a mother figure to hundreds of unruly middle schoolers, giving them their medications, showing empathy when they were hurt or ill, and listening to them with tenderness, love, and a lot of common sense.
As a homemaker with limited resources, Mary Jeanne’s meals were most memorable for being simple and nutritious. In the early leanest years breakfast was hot cereal or bran flakes with powdered milk mixed the night before. Lunches were packed in a brown sack and were made of whole wheat bread and one piece of lunch meat with a small red delicious apple. Mary Jeanne had dinner on the table every night at 6 pm. Her best known meals were her homemade spaghetti, stroganoff, tostadas, pork chops and applesauce, and tacos with fried corn tortillas. Desserts were a once-a-week treat of either a cake or cookies where her children learned that one piece was sufficient but that if they were sneaky they could skim a little here and there, fooling no one as to the dwindling dessert, especially their mother.
Mary Jeanne had a purse in several standard colors and would change her purse to match her outfit or the season. Ask Mary Jeanne’s children about her purses, they’ll know where to find them because they all joke that one thing they could always count on was Mom “losing” her purse in the house and calling children home to find it for her.
Mary Jeanne loved statement sweatshirts and sweaters with cute teddy bears or butterflies, and she loved jewelry. Most of what she owned was costume but that didn’t stop Mary Jeanne from stopping at jewelry stores often to admire beautiful pieces. Mary Jeanne was never fussy about the car she drove or the clothes she wore. She purchased DIY boxed hair colors and makeup from the drugstore. Any extra pennies were spent on chocolate. She was known for popping over to See’s Candies and purchasing a bordeaux or a few pieces of bridge mix.
Mary Jeanne and Cliff moved to Highland, Utah, in 2007 after building their dream home where their family could gather. They loved that home and all the gatherings they hosted. Mary Jeanne would stock both refrigerators with favorite soda and water, always had yummy snacks in the pantry, and would make sure the visiting children got their favorite treat.
Mary Jeanne was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many callings. Her training in piano led her to serve as Relief Society and Primary pianist. She also served as counselors in both of those organizations, and as a teacher in Relief Society. Her favorite calling, and the one where she excelled, was as a visiting teacher. She never worried about checking a box or being “assigned to be a friend,” she served because she had empathy and compassion. She knew what it was like to be a young mother, to experience illness or the loss of loved ones. She reached out to the poor, needy and downtrodden. Her life experiences made her a sweet and caring friend to all who knew her.
Mary Jeanne started experiencing major health issues in 1984 when, while pregnant with Amy, she developed blood clots and was put on a blood thinner at increasing doses, which led to the discovery of a brain tumor with a cyst in between the two hemispheres. A shunt was inserted to drain the fluid from her brain and was left in for a subsequent 32 years. She recovered quite well but the shunt insertion left her with weakness on the left side of her body. The only complaint Mary Jeanne had about the weakness was that it was more difficult for her to play her beloved piano. She played a bit slower but even that eventually recovered to an acceptable level. Mary Jeanne had several back surgeries, broke her hip, had a pain pump inserted, and more brain bleeds. The first shunt eventually failed, leading to another brain bleed and shunt replacement in 2016. Mary Jeanne was in the ICU for their 50th wedding anniversary and Cliff was by her side, taking care of her and nursing her back to health. However, the brain bleed in 2016 was significant enough to affect Mary Jeanne’s cognition. Her memory became very poor; however, she always remembered family and friends, even the names of her grandchildren’s spouses, just not the details of their lives. The last 2-½ years of her life Mary Jeanne lived in Covington Senior Living in memory care. She delighted in visits and anyone bearing a chocolate treat would be rewarded with maximum gratitude.
Mary Jeanne is survived by her brother Fred (Ellen), her six children Paul (Renee), Jeanna (Harold) Nichols, David (Jill), Carrie (Jeff) Minert, Matthew (Julie), Amy (Justin) Cote, 19 grandchildren (12 grandsons and 7 granddaughters) and 2 great-grandchildren, the second of which was born only 13 hours after her passing. If Mary Jeanne had anything to do with it, she ushered that baby to a grieving family who needed to feel the joy in our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. Mary Jeanne took her responsibility as a missionary very seriously, proclaiming the gospel to all who would listen and always with love, compassion, and respect. Her greatest joy was seeing her six children married in the temple to worthy spouses.
Mary Jeanne’s funeral services will be held on Monday, May 8, 2023, at 11:00 am at the Highland 36th Ward Chapel, located at 11300 North Highland Boulevard, Highland, Utah. There will be a viewing from 9:30 to 10:30 am that morning prior to services at the church. Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 South Highland Drive, Millcreek, Utah, immediately following the funeral.
The family would like to thank the staff at Covington Senior Living in Orem, Utah, and her hospice team, specifically Jesi and Cassie, for showing Mom the Christ-like love she so richly deserved.