Roxena Westlake Johnson, 49, slipped peacefully from this life Friday, November 7, 2008, at the University Hospital in Salt Lake City from complications following cancer surgery. Many of her family members were by her side.
Roxena was born August 6, 1959, in Montpelier, Idaho, to Bert and Reha Hart Westlake. She grew up in Bennington, Idaho, attending grade school in Montpelier and graduating from Bear Lake High School in 1977. She and her sister, ReeAnn, loved horses and won many ribbons showing in 4-H and queen contests in several county fairs.
On May 7, 1982, Roxena married Albert K. Johnson in the Idaho Falls Temple. Their love of horses brought them together and allowed them to share many miles together in the saddle, exploring the mountains and hills around the Bear Lake Valley. They also enjoyed skiing the many resorts in the area during the winter.
They were then blessed with two sons, Alexander, born in 1990, and Nicholas, born in 1993. Their lives have revolved around raising their sons and managing the Johnson Family Farm and Ranch.
Roxena was a dedicated and loving wife and mother. She was known for her tidy home and yard and her wonderful home cooking. She loved animals and always had a lot of cats and a dog or two along with her horses.
Roxena worked as the office manager at the Ranch Hand in Montpelier for the past 26 years. During the time that the Ranch Hand was closed she managed the office for Bear Lake Stone and also worked as an assistant at Bear River Vision. One of her greatest talents was the ability to manage the day-to-day setting of a busy office. She was very thrifty and always had a little money put away for the extra things the family needed.
She was a dedicated and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and loved to serve the Lord. She served as ward Primary President and ward Young Women president, along with many other callings through the years. She was also ward organist for the past 12 years. She loved the hymns of Zion and the Primary songs, spending many years as Primary pianist.
She loved to listen to the Tabernacle Choir and enjoyed the times when she, Albert and the boys could attend conference in Salt Lake City, the last time being one month ago. She had a deep testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and radiated it to all she came in contact with, through her cheerful and unassuming personality. She was loved and respected by everyone. She was always very supportive of Albert in all the things he was involved with, but did not like the attention that it sometimes brought to her. She never got accustomed to being in the public eye and was a very sensitive and private person.
Roxena inherited a spirit of adventure from her father and loved to explore the hills and mountains with her family. She would always want to see over the next horizon and would put great effort into getting there. Whether hiking, on horseback, four-wheeler or snowmobile, she was fearless in the mountains and spent many enjoyable days exploring with Albert and their boys and her sister, ReeAnn, reaching the point of danger many times before she was willing to turn around and head back.
She was preceded in death by her father, Bert Westlake. She is survived by her husband, Albert of Georgetown, Idaho; her two sons, Alexander and Nicholas, also of Georgetown; her mother, Reha Westlake of Bennington, Idaho; two brothers, Kevin (Claire) Westlake of Mexa, Arizona, and Elray (Laura) Westlake of Riverdale, Idaho; one sister, ReeAnn (Mike) Jensen of Ovid, Idaho; and many nieces and nephews who loved Aunt Roxena dearly.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, November 13, at 1 p.m. in the Georgetown LDS Chapel. Friends may visit with the family at a viewing Wednesday evening, Nov. 12, at Matthews Mortuary from 7 to 9 p.m., and again on Thursday at the church from 10:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. prior to the services. The interment will be in the Georgetown Cemetery.