Nov. 26, 1939-May 19, 2024

Joy Ann (Jolley) Kohler, born Nov.  26, 1939, in Orem, Utah departed this life on Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Washington, Utah, at the age of 84. Joy is survived by three grateful children,Mark, Bryan (Dina) and Suzanne and her grandchildren Dillon, Alison, Sydney, Molly, Jacob, Abby, Luke, Selma, Joshua and Sam who will miss her laugh and her fierce devotion and love.  She now joins her sweetheart Marden and the rest of her dear family who preceded her in death.

Joy was the youngest daughter of Bryant Manning Jolley (first mayor of Orem) and Ruth Elizebeth Henrichsen, who, after losing their infant daughter, Carol, some years before, were surprised and overjoyed to welcome one more baby girl to their family.  Thus the name Joy Jolley reflected their great emotion at her arrival to the family.

Joy met Marden Kohler while attending BYU to become a teacher and they were married on May 8, 1962, in the Salt Lake Temple. She taught school for seven years and loved her elementary school children. Joy was born to be a mother, however, and relished her time training, counseling and educating her three kids. She also loved music, was an accomplished pianist, a fan of the musical arts and theater and an avid reader and lifetime learner. As a grandmother, she carried on this tradition, teaching and relating stories and facts about the world that she was currently reading to our children from the moment they walked into her home. She loved her parents, her brothers and sisters and their children and took great pride in her family name and the place she grew up.

Joy was devout in her faith and loved researching her family history and her Utah Pioneer heritage and served throughout her life in her local church as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joy (and Marden) loved to laugh and passed this gift on to their children. They found humor in daily life and even in their own mishaps and shortcomings, often turning mistakes or hard lessons into long-running jokes and stories that still bring tears of laughter. She will truly be missed and remembered for her great service and dedication to her family for generations. Thank you, Mom. We love you.

— Mark, Bryan and Suzanne

Services for Joy will be held at the LDS Chapel, 607 East Rocky Mouth Lane, Draper, Utah, this Saturday, June 1, at 10 a.m., with burial to follow at the Orem Cemetery.