Josephine Boyer Anthony Obituary (1944 - 2020)

Our favorite sister/friend and aunt, Josephine Boyer Anthony, passed away peacefully on January 29, 2020, just 23 days short of 76 years of age. Jo was the sixth of twelve children of Edward H. and Vesta Josephine Frost Boyer. She had many illnesses as a child including scarlet fever that left her with learning disabilities, but she was one tough cookie and worked very hard in her life. Her Aunt Mary Boyer mentored Jo in cosmetology and Jo passed the State Board Cosmetology tests in Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona. After working summers at Jackson Lake Lodge and winters in Arizona with Aunt Mary for a few years they decided to stay in Arizona where Jo worked at the Diamond LazyK salon in Scottsdale for many years. Her boss, Pauline Gilliland, was Jo’s friend and mentor there. Jo met Joseph Hastings Anthony at a church dance; they were married in January 1976, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, two “love bugs.” They bought a home in Tempe, Arizona, close to where Joseph worked for Arizona State University. He passed away in April of 1992. Josephine bravely moved forward without her Joe. To make ends meet she started to work part-time at Walmart and made many friends there, transitioning to full-time as Pauline’s beauty salon dwindled and closed. In 2004 Jo sold her home in Tempe and fulfilled some dreams, going to England on the Queen Mary II and buying a red Mustang convertible! In 2005 Jo moved back to Utah, and lived in Sandy where she made many friends, and enjoyed the Willowood Apartments. The last five years she had many health problems and stayed in several facilities. The family appreciates the staff at Alpine Meadow Nursing and Rehab who took good care of Jo. Also, thanks to her high school friend, MaryJane B. Palfreyman, who visited Jo often. Family members who will miss Jo include sisters RaeAnn, Leeta, Valerie and Wanda and brothers Marlin, Jorgen, LeGrande, K. Peter Koyote and Seth and their families. Having no children of her own, Jo loved and was loved by all her nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. Greeting her in the Spirit World were her Joe, her parents and two brothers and many other relatives. Services will be Saturday February 8, 2020 at 1:00 pm at the LDS Church at 225 East 200 North, Orem, Utah.