JoAnn Stephenson Klomp

JoAnn Stephenson Klomp, loving wife, mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully at her home in Kaysville, Utah, in the early hours of May 12, 2023, at the age of 73, after a valiant battle with metastatic breast cancer.

JoAnn was born on January 30, 1950, in Ogden, Utah, to Nedra Haskell Stephenson and Melvin Joseph Stephenson.  She had two older sisters, Janet and Connie, and a younger brother, Lee.  She lived most of her early life in Roy, Utah.  She attended Roy High School where she was on the Royalaires drill team and was active in student government.  She graduated from Roy High School in 1968.  Upon graduating, she attended Weber State College for two years where she earned her Associate of Science degree.  She then transferred to the University of Utah where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology and later her Master of Science degree in Speech Pathology.

It was while attending Weber State College that she met the love of her life, David Klomp, in an English literature class.  Dave would often tell his children and grandchildren that when she walked into class, he thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen – and he still thinks the same.  They dated for just six weeks before he left to serve a mission in Central Germany for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  But what a wonderful and exciting six weeks those were!  A little over a year after Dave returned from his mission, they were married on June 21, 1973, in the Salt Lake Temple.  That same summer, JoAnn completed her master’s degree and, in the Fall, began her speech therapy work in the Granite School District while Dave continued his undergraduate studies.

JoAnn was an outstanding speech therapist!  She loved to work with little children and help them correct their speech impediments.  The children with whom she worked adored her.  She loved to tell stories of the funny things her students would do or say.  She genuinely loved each of them.  She continued to work while Dave completed his undergraduate degree and then attended law school at the University of Utah.  Just a few weeks before Dave graduated from law school, JoAnn and Dave were blessed with their first beautiful baby girl, Heidi.  JoAnn put her career on hold to become a devoted and loving full-time mother.  They were later blessed with two more beautiful baby girls, Amy and Christine, and their family was complete for the time being.

After her children were all in school, JoAnn decided to return to work part-time as a Speech Language Pathologist two days a week in the Davis School District.  She had the incredible gift of being able to balance work and motherhood perfectly.  Just as before, she loved her students and they adored her.  She made them feel special and they loved to attend her speech classes.  She made speech therapy fun while teaching and working with them to correct their speech impediments.  She made her students feel special and important.  They were often sad when they had to “graduate,” because it meant they couldn’t continue coming to her class.  At times, children without speech problems would stop her in the hallway and plead to be allowed to come to her class.  JoAnn continued to work part-time for twelve years when she decided to retire.  For many years after, former students and their parents would come up to her in stores and other places to thank her for how she had helped them.

JoAnn was outstanding at everything she did.  First and foremost, she loved being a wife and mother and excelled in those roles.  She was a wonderful mother to her three daughters.  She loved to sew matching nightgowns and dresses for them when they were young.  She planned and took them on fun-filled activities and adventures and made every holiday special, creating cherished memories of an idyllic childhood.  JoAnn was an excellent pianist and loved to read, and she instilled these traits in her daughters by spending countless hours sitting with them while they practiced the piano and reading stories to them.  She was completely devoted to her family and supported them in everything they did. In turn, her family loved and adored her.  She was the glue that held them together.  She had the amazing ability to make everything special and, more importantly, make everyone feel special.  She always taught her family that, “it does matter and we do care.”  She made keeping an immaculate and orderly home seem easy.  Her mottos were, “Don’t put it down if it doesn’t belong there” and “Do it once and do it right.”  She was often asked to share her organization skills with women both young and old.

JoAnn and Dave were blessed with eight beautiful, amazing and perfect grandchildren.  JoAnn was affectionately known as “Mimi” to them.  Just as she did with her children, she made each of her grandchildren feel extra special.  Each grandchild was her favorite.  She loved giving all her grandchildren matching pajamas on Christmas Eve, followed by reading a special Christmas story.  She made all holidays special and created family traditions that resulted in many treasured memories.  Family was always important to her.  Her grandchildren loved their “Mimi” and cherished being with her.

JoAnn had many special friends.  She was a member of the Kaysville Art Club, “Philology,” a children’s literature club, and her treasured “Persian Pickles” Literary Club.  She cherished the friendships she established with the ladies of those clubs.

JoAnn was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She had a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a great faith in the power of prayer and Priesthood blessings.  She loved her Savior.  She served in many callings, including the Stake Relief Society and in ward presidencies of the Primary, Young Women and Relief Society organizations.  She always fulfilled her callings to the fullest and found great joy in helping and serving others.   She was always positive and looked for ways to brighten the days of others.  Her compassion for others knew no boundaries or limits.  She lived her life according to one of her favorite sayings by Ralph Waldo Emerson:  “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”

The family would like to thank Dr. John Ward and Dr. Sandra Buys at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Dr. Shaun Chandna at the University of Utah Hospital, and Dr. Daniel Booser at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with their assistants, nurses and staff, for their kind and caring service to JoAnn.

JoAnn is survived by her loving husband, David Foulger Klomp, three daughters, Heidi (Scott) Peppler, Amy (Kelly) Francis and Christy (Christopher) Calder, eight amazing grandchildren, two sisters, Janet Day and Connie Black, and one brother, Lee Stephenson.  JoAnn was preceded in death by her parents and an older infant brother.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 19, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. in the Kaysville Utah Crestwood Stake Center located at 855 East Mutton Hollow Road, Kaysville, Utah.  Friends may visit the family on Thursday, May 18, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 North Fairfield Road, Layton, Utah, and on May 19, 2023, at the Kaysville Utah Crestwood Stake Center from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service.

 Interment will be in the Kaysville City Cemetery

Services will be live-streamed and may be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of JoAnn’s obituary page at www.lindquistmortuary.com

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