VERNA COY 1937 – 2019 Verna Coy, 81, passed away peacefully on February 19, 2019. She was born on November 7, 1937 to Ernest Lincoln Johnson and Gertrude Myrtle Church who later changed her name to Marianne. They divorced when Verna was about two years old and Verna went to live with her father Ernest.
Both her parents remarried and she eventually had four sisters and three brothers, all of them are still living. She was raised in the Avenues of Salt Lake and liked to tell stories about her adventures there. When Verna was 15 years old she met a handsome young man named Don Coy while she was roller skating.
Shortly thereafter they decided to elope on her 16th birthday! During a few of the early years of marriage Don was in South Korea in the military. When Don and Verna did start having children, she had all four of within 5 ½ years.
Lynnette (Robert) Hansen is the oldest and she has three children and four grandchildren. Debbie (Richard) Davis has 4 children and 14 grandchildren; Kelly (Nadine) Coy has three children and 10 grandchildren; and Steve (Lisa) Coy has five children, with four of them living, and one grandchild. So a grand total of 15 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren with more to come!
! She was preceded in death by her husband Don and granddaughter, BreeAnna. Don opened Bountiful Upholstery when the family was small; Verna was the saleswoman, the bookkeeper and Don’s only hope for some degree of organization.
When Don sold the shop years later Verna did some secretarial work for the U of U and a few other companies. Don and Verna also decided to build a cabin where many happy memories were made. Verna loved music and she was a voracious reader and compiled dozens of scrapbooks.
She wrote her life history as well as stories and poems about her life and her family. She entered a few contests and won some prizes for her writing. One of her stories was even printed in the Deseret News.
She also collected over 100 porcelain dolls. Verna was also an exceedingly generous person; she was a loving friend and loved to chat with everyone she met. When the family put out the word that Verna was struggling with her health back in November, a huge number of family and friends came by the Assisted Living Center to talk to Verna and thank her for her generosity, love and friendship through the years.
Don and Verna loved to travel and made friends everywhere they went. In their 63 years together they went to Hawaii more than 20 times; they saw Italy a few times; they visited Russia; Mexico; Alaska; and an unknown number of states; and went on numerous cruises. Verna also loved the railroad and took a few trips with her family.
Verna was a fabulous grandma. She spoiled the kids with too many treats, but more than that she was their friend. Many of her travels revolved around her family.
She never had any favorites; she treated all her grandkids equally. Verna diligently served in various callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She and Don were sealed in the temple on July 23, 1963 and taught her family to live the gospel by word and deed.
She quietly went about serving in so many remarkable ways never seeking the limelight but helping strangers and friends alike that might need a hand. Funeral services will be held 11:00 am Saturday, March 2nd at the Centerville 7th Ward 270 N. 300 E. Centerville. Friends may visit Friday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Lindquist’s Bountiful Mortuary, 727 N. 400 E. Bountiful and from 9:30-10:30 am prior to the services.
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