JoAnn Rippon lived a life defined by faith, learning, service, and love. On June 29th she passed in the early morning hours, a few weeks shy of her 89th birthday. She felt she had been blessed to live to the age of a tree (a promise bestowed upon her in a blessing), and as it turns out she outlived some of them.

She possessed a lifelong passion for knowledge, earning degrees from Brigham Young University, Columbia University, the University of Washington, and pursuing doctoral studies in clinical psychology at United States International University. As a registered nurse, educator, counselor, administrator, and faculty member at both Brigham Young University and San Diego State University, she devoted her professional life to helping others heal, grow, and flourish.

Books were among JoAnn's greatest treasures. Wherever she lived—from Hampton Manor, New York, to La Jolla, California, an entire wall was often devoted to custom-built bookshelves overflowing with volumes she cherished. She instilled that same love of learning in her sons, Robb and Rand, teaching them to read from an early age. One of her favorite memories was watching them excitedly race through the house identifying everything they could read—"couch," "refrigerator," and countless other words that opened their young worlds.

JoAnn loved journaling and felt that it helped her to recall the important moments of her life and hoped her journals would be a legacy to her posterity, hoping to get them published. She had volumes from the moment she could write, throughout the remainder of her life .

JoAnn loved to travel and believed experiences were worth sacrificing for. She lived modestly so that, when the opportunity arose, she could travel in comfort and create lasting memories with those she loved. Her sons still smile, remembering the family skipping breakfast and lunch for two days while visiting New Orleans so they could enjoy one unforgettable dinner together at the Hotel Pontchartrain, where they were introduced to Steak Oscar and learned that anticipation often made life's finest moments even sweeter.

Above all, JoAnn was a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. As a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she sought throughout her life to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. One experience especially reflected her quiet faith. When her son Robb was a struggling college student at Brigham Young University, living for weeks on little more than potatoes, JoAnn felt impressed to drive from San Diego to Provo. Unaware of his circumstances, she stopped at Costco along the way and arrived unexpectedly at his door with groceries. After ensuring he had what he needed, she embraced him and quietly returned home. She never sought recognition; following the prompting was enough.

Those who knew JoAnn remember her keen intellect, warmth, sensitivity to others, and genuine love for people. She was gifted in teaching, writing, speech, drama, music, and counseling, but considered her greatest aspiration to be learning to love more fully, serving others more consistently, and helping her family draw closer to God.

In a personal history she wrote years ago, JoAnn expressed the goals that guided her life: to deepen her knowledge of the Gospel, to use her time wisely with her children, to give service until it became second nature, and ultimately to seek exaltation with her family. Her testimony never wavered. She wrote, "I love the Gospel with every fiber of my body and have no doubt it is true. I've studied it and found no contradictions or discrepancies. I've lived it and found joy and blessings."

JoAnn leaves a legacy of faith, education, compassion, curiosity, and unconditional love. She taught her family to pursue knowledge with enthusiasm, to serve generously and quietly, and to measure a life by faithful service to God and others. She is survived by her husband and eternal companion, E. Fay Rippon; her children, Robb and Sherry Louk and Rand and Marty Louk; her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Joshua and Stephanie Louk (Eliza and Emmie Rose), Dray Louk, Chad and Brianna Louk (Bryce and Caden), Peyton Louk, Sam Louk, Kaitlin and Travis Fletcher, Meagan and David Ruhl, and Dillon and Jazymne Louk; and by the many friends, students, and others who were blessed to know her. JoAnn was survived by her two brothers and sister, including her youngest brother, Jim Dray, and his wife, Lilon.

To the vast network of eclectic friends JoAnn acquired over her lifetime, she treasured each of you and the many great experiences you shared together. She looks forward to seeing each and every one of us, to greet us when it is our time to cross over to the other side.