Cover photo for Joycelyn Pedersen Dahlquist's Obituary
1927 Joycelyn 2024

Joycelyn Pedersen Dahlquist

August 6, 1927 — March 14, 2024

Joycelyn Pedersen Dahlquist,  96, passed away as she wanted to (in her sleep, like her mother) at her daughter's home in West Valley City on Thursday, March 14, 2024.  She was born at home on August 6, 1927 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She was the third child and only daughter of Willard Magnus Pedersen and Ella Barbara Besendorfer, growing up with two older brothers.  When she was eight years old, life changed dramatically when her father died suddenly at age 38 from a massive heart attack.  Though it was almost ninety years ago , she still had vivid memories of him and losing him had a lasting impact on her and her brothers, Max and Ralph.  Her mother later married Vincent Mark Grass, but it just wasn't the same.
She graduated from West High School in 1944 and went to work in the office of Dinwoodey's Furniture store.  She also began taking singing lessons at the McCune School of Music.  Because World War II was in full swing, many of the boys her age were serving in the armed forces overseas and she corresponded with several.  On a dare, a younger (by fourteen months) Calvin Lester Dahlquist who lived in the same 24th Ward invited her to go dancing with him.  To his surprise, she accepted.  The end result of that first date culminated with their marriage in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on October 23, 1947.  They are the parents of five children:  David (Maria Elena) of Payson, Utah; Kent (Ginger) of Bountiful; Bob (Kari) of Carlsbad, California; Shauna (Allen) Jorgensen of West Valley City; and Gary (Stacey) of Bountiful.  
    She was a full-time stay-at-home mom until 1966 when she began working part-time for First Security (now Wells Fargo) Bank to help make ends meet.  After several years, she went from part-time to full-time and retired in 1991 after  twenty-five years of service with a final title of Administrative Assistant to the President of First Security Bank.  
She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in  the Primary, Young Women's, and Relief Society organizations as well as a host of music callings. After her retirement from the bank, she was called to serve as an ordinance worker in the Bountiful Utah Temple, serving two shifts a week for seven years.
In 2004, she and Cal opted to sell their home of 36 years in Bountiful and move to the Hunter Villa Condos in West Valley City to a home without stairs and less challenges for aging bodies.  They came to enjoy the many new friends in the condos and it was there that Cal passed away in 2012 after sixty-four years of marriage.  The loneliness of widowhood coupled with the many everyday tasks that she now had to deal with alone impelled her to accept an offer from her daughter Shauna to sell the condo and move in with Shauna's family in 2015 where she graciously allowed them to serve her and lovingly accepted the title and role of "Grandma Joyce" to numerous family members who came to visit.  
    In addition to her singing,  she was accomplished in knitting, crocheting, counted cross-stitch, and other handiwork and her homemade projects now grace the homes of her posterity.  At the time of her passing, she left several projects which she was still working on even though three of her fingers had gone numb which made it difficult to thread a needle! She also loved to travel, especially cruising, and for years was an avid bowler.
    She is survived by her five children and their spouses; sixteen grandchildren; and
thirty-three great grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers; her husband Calvin; daughter-in-law Clare Higgins Dahlquist; and four grandchildren:  Rebekah, Jenny, Ryan, and Sean Dahlquist.  She will be buried next to her beloved husband in the Bountiful city cemetery.
Services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, Utah, where a viewing will be held from 8:45-9:45 a.m. prior to services.
Services will be streamed live on Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and this obituary page.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Joycelyn Pedersen Dahlquist, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Viewing

Saturday, March 23, 2024

8:45 - 9:45 am (Mountain time)

Russon Mortuary & Crematory - Bountiful

295 N. Main St., Bountiful, UT 84010

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Funeral Service

Saturday, March 23, 2024

10:00 - 11:00 am (Mountain time)

Russon Mortuary & Crematory - Bountiful

295 N. Main St., Bountiful, UT 84010

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 817

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree