Obituary of Janis Cleo Brown Nilsson

1918–2018

Our dear mother, grandmother and friend, Janis Cleo Brown Nilsson, passed away in the early hours of Sunday, March 4, 2018, of causes incident to age. She was 99 years old.

Janis was born on Oct. 18, 1918, in Monroe, Utah, to Annie Magleby and James Brown. Her mother died when she was 2 years old, and she was raised by her loving stepmother, Jennie Schon Brown.

She attended schools in Monroe and graduated from South Sevier High School. She went on to attend Snow College and learned secretarial skills there. Afterward, she lived and worked in Salt Lake City. During World War II, she made and inspected bullets at the Remington Arms factory. Later, she worked as a secretary for the Presiding Bishop’s Office in the old LDS Church office building. Her last job in Salt Lake was as a receptionist for Dr. Taylor.

She spent about ten years working, then she met Lynn Nilsson, who was recently discharged from the Navy and was working for a florist in Salt Lake. They became engaged and were sealed in the Manti Temple on Sept. 9, 1948. He died in 2007.

Lynn and Janis settled in American Fork, Utah, where they made their lifelong home. For a year, she lived with her sister in Salt Lake while Lynn went back into the Navy during the Korean War. Afterward, she devoted her time to raising a family and taking care of her home.

Janis was a perfectionist and did everything well. She loved nature and taught her children to love it as well. She kept an orderly yard and a beautiful vegetable and fruit garden from which she made a bounty of preserved goods. She also loved the needle arts: sewing, embroidering, and especially making masterful quilts.

Janis was a true believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She loved studying Gospel topics and the scriptures. She served in many callings in the Church, but never aspired to leadership positions. She loved serving others in her quiet way and always watched out for the wellbeing of her neighbors. She spent many hours working on Family History research and collecting personal histories.

Janis loved her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She leaves a legacy of three children: Linda (David) Gordon, Mark (Susannah) Nilsson, and Bob (Dorothy) Nilsson, 12 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, all six sisters, husband and twin great-grandsons, Hyrum and Joseph Nilsson.

The family would like to thank Mom’s many caregivers at The Charleston at Cedar Hills and Envision Hospice for their loving and gentle care.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 10, 2018, at 11 a.m. at the LDS chapel located at 380 S. 300 East, American Fork.

Visitations will be held at Anderson & Sons Mortuary, 49 E. 100 North, American Fork, on Friday evening, March 9, from 6 to 8 p.m., and also on March 10, prior to the funeral, at the chapel, from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m.

Interment will be at American Fork City Cemetery, 26 W. 600 North, American Fork.