Lola Larsen

Lola Johnson Larsen passed away on November 23, 2020, at the age of 87 from the effects of a fall and then contracting COVID-19.

Lola was born on October 9, 1933, in Santaquin, Utah, to Peter Lundgren Johnson and Ada Leon Sidwell. She was the third of eight children.

Lola graduated from Payson High School and later completed a course at Utah Valley Technical School. She married James Winget Larsen on June 1, 1957, in the Manti Temple. After he graduated from BYU, they moved to Ferron, Utah, where James taught school and Lola learned how to quilt - a passion and talent she enjoyed her whole life.

After five years in Ferron, Lola and James moved to Midvale where she lived until her death. Lola raised three children, Harold, Karen, and Kris. She was a dedicated homemaker, and as the kids got older, she went to work as a lunch lady at Midvale Junior High. She enjoyed interacting with the kids and making food.

Lola enjoyed a variety of fulfilling hobbies. She loved to make bread, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and spudnuts. She always grew a large garden and taught her kids how to work by weeding, harvesting, and processing the produce. She learned how to decorate cakes and became proficient enough to teach classes. She made a number of wedding cakes including most of her children's wedding cakes. She sewed a lot of her own clothes and made many quilts.

She worked hard to support each of her children on their LDS missions and with college classes. She was very proud of their service and their lives. She went on to support her grandson James on his mission also.

Lola was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of her earliest memories is of going to the Payson tabernacle with her sister Marjorie and her brother Bob to get baptized. She was a dedicated visiting teacher and did a lot of compassionate service. She also spent numerous years as a Relief Society teacher and a church librarian. She was always making food to take to friends and neighbors in need.

Later in life, Lola spent ten years working at the Jordan River Temple as an ordinance worker, and those were some of the happiest years of her life. She loved working at the temple and formed some lasting friendships with the people she worked with.

Lola loved her grandchildren. They were the light of her life, and she would do anything to support and help them. One of the last things she did was to give all of her quilts to her grandchildren. She let them each pick out the one they wanted, and she shared the story of each quilt with each grandchild.

She is survived by two siblings, her brother Robert L. Johnson and her sister Shirley J. Ferry; her three children, Harold James Larsen (Tammy), Karen Larsen Brown (HR), and Daniel Kris Larsen (Melony); as well as nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, James Winget Larsen; her sisters, Norma Hansen, Marjorie Johnson, and Stella Johnson; as well as her brothers, Archie Johnson and Bud Johnson.

Due to COVID-19, there will be no viewing. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2020, at 1:00 pm at Redwood Memorial Cemetery at 6500 South Redwood Road in Taylorsville. Friends and family are invited to attend. Please wear a mask and maintain social distance.