Lonnie Joy Kirby, beloved mother, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother, passed away unexpectedly Thursday, Feburary 18, 2021. Lonnie was born July 21, 1940 in Kanab to Joan Brown and William Wright. She grew up helping take care of her brothers Tony and Nick, and loved spending time with her Grandma and Papa Brown. In 1959 she married the love of her life George Kirby and later had three children; Brad, Penny and Debra.
You would be hard pressed to find someone who loved their hometown of Kanab more than Lonnie did. She was a very active member of her community, serving in the Kane Community Coalition, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, and Kanab Heritage Museum. She loved the Kanab Cowboys and was the biggest supporter of her kids and grandkids from little league all the way through high school. She had great memories of chasing the Cowboys wherever they played with friends and neighbors.
Lonnie Joy touched so many lives. Lonnie learned long ago the secret to true happiness. She was one of the most service oriented people in the community. She served in the compassionate service calling for many years. She was always sharing food and baked goods with all of her neighbors, friends and family.
Lonnie was a strong and dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She loved going to church because it gave her such a wonderful opportunity to see and touch so many lives to see.
Known as Mom to a few and Lonnie or Aunt Lon to many, her favorite title was grandma. One of her greatest joys these last few years was hosting sunday dinner for her family almost every week. She was known for her wonderful cooking. Especially for her cookout meals and homemade BBQ sauce. She owned and operated Chuckwagon Cookouts with Dennis and Kathy Judd, then later with her brother Tony and his wife Linda, both of them whom she loved dearly.
After George passed, she had the best time the last several years spending time with her many wonderful friends. They went for rides, lunches (3 hr), birthday celebrations and much more. They brought her so much happiness and she looked forward to every single outing with them.
As the center of her family, she was a proud mother of a son, Bradley, and two daughters, Penny(Terri) and Debra. Her loss is equally felt by her grandkids, Miranda Kirby (deceased), Crystal(Jesse) Miller, Ryan (Esther) Kirby, Katie Millet, Natalie (Kirk) Barney, Austin (Jordan) Eddy, and Melissa (Stanton) Upson. Among the many who were happy to welcome her home, the most excited were her mother Joan, her husband George, her son Bradley, his wife Susie, her granddaughter Miranda, and her brother Nick.
She will be so incredibly missed. We will always treasure Lonnie Joy.
There will be a visitation Wednesday from 6-8 at Mosdell Mortuary. As per Lonnie wishes, she will be cremated. A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 27, 2021 at 11:00 AM at the Kanab South Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a visitation from 10-10:45am prior to the service. Burial in the Kanab City Cemtery under the direction of Mosdell Mortuary.
Those wishing to attend the celebration of Lonnie’s life please be aware that Full Covid-19 precautions are required.
The Memorial Service will be livestreamed through the link below.
Lonnie Kirby | Mosdell Service on Vimeo
I love Lonnie Joy! A bright light of service will be missed by all! Being a classmate of Tony’s, We don’t remember a time she wasn’t there for all of us who will miss her! She always had a smile whenever we were. I just imagine her reunion with the Love of her life! Iam happy for herl
Like my father before me we washed dishes early in our work careers and I washed dishes for Lonnie and George at the cowboy cookouts behind the wigwam! Lonnie was a Joy to work for and to work with. Her patience, kindness and positive smiling demeanor together with her ‘get it done’ grit made her an ideal leader. My soul loves Lonnie for the incredible impact she had on my life, her help in funding my college education with summer work. My soul loves the memory of her example in living each day joyously. May this memory live long in the hearts of her family and friends, and all who knew her!!
Lonnie was a great 2nd Grandma to Katie and a wonderful 2nd Great-grandma to her kids, Jackie, Abbi and Ray. They loved her and how she loved them. What a wonderful legacy to have that much unconditional love for all. You will be missed.
I had the great honor of spending an afternoon with sweet Lonnie while traveling through Kanab. My dear friend Penny insisted that I meet her mom and so Miss Lonnie and I sat on her porch and had a lovely chat – and it was magical. It brought the comfort of simple things that I didn’t know my soul needed. I will cherish that afternoon for the rest of my days.