Gloria JoAnn Teerlink

Gloria JoAnn Teerlink passed gracefully from this earthly existence on May 28, 2024.  She was a shining example of goodness, light, and beauty.

 JoAnn was born in Bridgeport, West Virginia on September 20, 1932 to Ostin Olin Garvin and Macel Marie Hart Garvin.  She had a bucolic childhood, visiting family farms and reveling in small town living.  She, her mother, and sister were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by a handsome young missionary from Salt Lake in 1950.  That same missionary invited her to Salt Lake soon after his mission; she never returned to her roots in Ohio.  She married that missionary, Rulon Teerlink, in the Salt Lake Temple on September 10, 1951.

 Joann was an energetic young mother of four, without a home telephone or a driver’s license until well into motherhood.  She served in the PTA, the Primary, Young Women’s, Relief Society, and Stake Young Women’s.  Her children fondly remember her working as a lunch lady at the Skyline cafeteria, where she might offer them seconds of cinnamon rolls.  She went on to work at the LDS Institute at the University of Utah for several years.

 JoAnn and her husband, Rulon, served on two LDS missions, one service mission with LDS Social Services and another serving in the mission office in the Florida Tallahassee Mission.

 JoAnn is most remembered for her generous spirit.  She was constantly in the kitchen cooking or baking for her family and a host of friends and neighbors.  Neighborhood children were often found knocking on the door of Sister T, asking for cookies stored in movie film tins from her basement freezer.

 Our family will forever be grateful for the tender care our parents received at Spring Gardens and from the branch there.  They were welcomed into the community and held ever so tightly.  We have all felt a part of that community and will miss you all terribly.

 She is survived by her loving children, Mark (Ranell), Cynthia (Douglas), Marianne, Bradley (Jennifer); eleven grandchildren, and thirty-seven great-grandchildren.  She is also survived by her sister, Patsy June Garvin Kette.  She is preceded in death by her brother Keith, her grandson Jeffrey, and her husband Rulon.

 A family gathering was held on June 8, 2024 from at Lindquist's Mortuary in Bountiful followed by a graveside service at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. 

A "Celebration of Life" for JoAnn will be held at 2:00 pm Saturday, August 17th at the East Millcreek North Stake Center, 3408 S. Celeste Way, Salt Lake City, Ut. 84109.

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