Magdalena “Lena” DeJong Brewer Barney

Kearns/Monroe, UT - Our loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Lena Barney, 92, passed away in her sleep on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

Lena was born the fourth of five children to John and Magdalena Evertssen DeJong in Murray, Utah. A fond memory she often shared was when, on very cold, icy winter days, her father would create an ice rink in the yard by using a common garden hose. He would spray the entire front yard so all of the kids could skate, until the ice melted. A not-so-fond memory she shared was when her brother, Mart, stuck a live chicken down the back of her blouse. And until the day she died, she was terrified of birds.

As a teenager, Lena married her first husband, Willard, and together they had six children. Several years after they divorced, she married Don “Pa” Barney, who brought his four children to the family: Dixie, Diana, Debra and Wade. Pa helped her raise her children in Richfield. For a short time, they also lived in California, until they final settled in Kearns in the mid-1970s.

Although she held various jobs throughout her life, Lena’s greatest joy was found with her children and grandchildren. She loved to bake and cook new dishes, especially when she was camping with her family, the more the merrier. And often, she would have the camp meals planned out six months before the actual camping trip!

Lena lived a long and good life. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Jane, brothers Leonard, Martin and John; both husbands; her son Willard “Willie” Jr., and her daughters Margaret, Mary and Melinda, step-daughter Debra, and good friend June. She is survived by her son Ward (Julie), daughter Marlene (Dan), grandchildren Dillan (Jessica), Weston (Tanya), Michelle (Troy), Cory (Jennifer), Jerry (Edna), Stacey, Julia, Ronny, and Samuel, and Pa’s surviving children. Additionally, she had 22 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and her great friends, Michelle and Mele.

Although we all we miss our loving mother, grandmother, aunt and friend, we are grateful she is where she can be with her precious loved ones, and very hopefully, no birds.

Memorial services for Lena will be held on Tuesday, January, 28, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Springer Turner Funeral Home, 260 North 400 West in Richfield. She will be interred with Pa at the Monroe City Cemetery following the service. After the internment, a light lunch will be provided by granddaughters Michelle and Jessica, at Jessica and Dillan’s home, which is located directly south of the mortuary, at 246 North 400 West.