John Josephson

The services will streamed Saturday, September 12, 2020, 10:00 a.m.  Please click on the link at the bottom of the obituary.
John Cannon Josephson passed away on August 20, 2020 at the age of 90.  He was born on June 2, 1930 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Newell Forstner Josephson and Marba Cannon Josephson. He was proceeded in death by his parents, siblings (Newell Jr., Dale, Janet, Blaine) and his first wife, Gerry Casper.  John had fond memories of his Cannon relatives, who lived with them when he was young.  He was very proud that his grandfather, Abram Cannon was an apostle, and his great-grandfather, George Q. Cannon, was in the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

John graduated from West High School.  He then served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uruguay for 2½ years.  During his mission he learned to speak fluent Spanish, a skill which he kept for the rest of his life.

John received a B.A. at the University of Utah.  He was also on the swim team at the University of Utah.  John went on to earn his M.A. specialized in Utah History at Brigham Young University.  During college, he joined Socotwa, a group that ran rivers and traveled.  He was the LDS Seminary teacher for 8 years at Granite High, Springville Jr., Lehi Jr., and Pleasant Grove Jr.  Also, John was a history and Spanish teacher for Granite School District for ~30 years: Kearns Jr., Skyline High, Bennion Jr., Eisenhower Jr., Bonneville Jr. He ran a river rafting business called Travel Institute where he led outdoor survival expeditions on the Yampa, Ladore, Green, Colorado, Snake, and Grijalva Rivers.  He also was an arborist and grew a variety of pine trees.  John sold live trees to help pay for his children’s education.

John loved reading books, singing songs and memorizing poems.  He loved the water, whether it be a river trip or the beach with family and friends.  As a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served on 6 missions including a senior mission to Monterrey, Mexico with wife Emmaree, three inner city missions and he worked at the Jordan River Temple for five years.

John met Gerry Casper on a river trip. He married Gerry in 1966, who passed away in 2000.  John married Emmaree Ravnikar in 2002.  He is survived by his wife Emmaree, his children: Kristie Lyn Remington (Mark Smith, Jessica, Summer, Jasmine), Jill Andrea Stidham, (John Stidham, Max, Zack, Tyson), Holly Ann Moursal (Issa Moursal, Savanna, Quentin) and Amy Gina Valentine (Tim Valentine, Cyan, Maya) and his step-children: Cabot Nelson, (Jennifer Clark, Clark, Holt), Holly Maree Leany (Delbert Leany, Jordan, Megan) and Heather Ann Hendriksen (Darrell Hendriksen, Salem, Oaklen, Ezril, Sicily, Daisy).

A meet and greet will be held Saturday, September 12, 2020 from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm at the outdoor pavilion at the Brighton Stake Center, 2895 E Creek Road, Cottonwood Heights, Utah.  Earlier that day a Memorial Service with his family and online will be held at 10:00 am.  All those attending, please wear a mask and practice social distancing.

In lieu of flowers, John has requested live plants or flowers (that can be replanted) or donations to the Perpetual Education Fund.