25 Dec 1921 – 19 Feb 2016
2nd Great-Granddaughter of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Great-Granddaughter of Louis Philip Cardon and Susette Stalé
Granddaughter of Joseph Samuel Cardon and Selenia Mesenile Walker
Daughter of Junius Welborn Cardon and Mae Whiting
Margaret Ethelyn “Lyn” Cardon Russon, 94, passed away on February 19, 2016, in St. George, Utah. She was born on December 25, 1921, in Vernon, Apache County, Arizona, to Junius Welborn Cardon and Mae Whiting Cardon. She was the fifth of nine children born to these wonderful parents. Even though she was always known as “Ethelyn” or “Lyn”, her favorite name, one she encouraged family and friends alike to use, was “Nani”.
Lyn spent her early childhood in Vernon. The family moved to Kirtland, New Mexico, when she was four years old. All of her schooling took place in Kirtland except for one semester of her freshman year when she attended Mesa Union High School, Mesa, Arizona and lived with her maternal grandmother, Verona Snow Whiting, who was an ordinance worker in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple. She became homesick, though, and returned home where she graduated from Central High School in Kirtland with the class of 1939, even though the rest of the family moved eight miles away to Farmington, New Mexico, at the end of her junior year. She didn’t want to leave her school before graduation, so she was allowed to stay in Kirtland for her senior year where she lived with close family friends, Carlos and Vi Stolworthy. Following graduation, she moved to Farmington, to be with her family. After working there for a couple of years to save money for college, she decided to enroll in Utah State Agricultural College in Logan, Utah. She had a job there and a place to live with the family of her father’s cousin, Joseph E. Cardon. However, it was 1942 and our country was at war. She decided to set aside college plans and get into national defense work.
She went to San Diego, California, and got a job as an inspector with Consolidated Aircraft, builders of the B-29. While there, she started dating Stanley A. Tanner, an old friend and neighbor from Kirtland, who was also working for the company. They were making plans to marry when he was promoted and transferred to the Tucson, Arizona plant. They married in Tucson on November 13, 1942, and Lyn felt doubly blessed in that Ronald Stanley, Stan’s 4-year-old son from a previous marriage, would now be hers, too. During the marriage, two more children were added to the family, Karma Lynn and Michael Stanley. The marriage ended in divorce in 1960.
Lyn and the two younger children moved to the Westwood area of Los Angeles, California, where they lived in an apartment across the street from the Los Angeles California LDS Temple. She found employment with Redding Publications where she managed the office, wrote copy for the various publications, and assisted with the overall operations of the company. Alma Neldon “Ned” Redding, owner and publisher, was a widower, and was a good friend of the family. After five years, Ned and Lyn were married on September 22, 1965. During the marriage, they worked together in the company, served in various church callings, and traveled extensively as they conducted tours throughout the world. However, Ned’s health was not good, and he passed away on January 5, 1969, in Los Angeles.
On April 21, 1971, she married John Marshall Russon for time in the Los Angeles California LDS Temple. She and Ned had known John and his first wife, Mary Anderson Russon, for several years. Lyn was delighted to become step-mother to John’s seven adult children: sons; Jon Kimball (Kim), David Stanley, John Henry, and Stephen Paul and daughters; Ann Victoria, Marcia Lucille, and Mary Ellen (Mimi). Lyn and John were later sealed in the Washington, D.C. LDS Temple, on February 12, 1987. From that time until John’s death on October 16, 2000, in St. George, they enjoyed their large blended family and serving in their church. They each held several different callings in the church; however, their greatest joy was serving together in various assignments. These included: working as assistants in the Swiss LDS Temple; serving as President and Matron in the St. George Utah LDS Temple; serving as missionaries in the New York Rochester LDS Mission where they were based at the Hill Cumorah Visitors’ Center near Palmyra, New York, and where John was director over the various church historical sites in the area; and, finally, as temple workers in the Frankfurt Germany LDS Temple. They returned home to the Green Valley area of St. George following their last mission.
Lyn is survived by one sister: LaVerne Cardon Tueller of St. George: daughters; Ann Everett (Ted) of St. George, Karma Lynn Stockstill of St. George, Marcia Everett (Richard) of Leavenworth, Kansas, and Mimi Larson (Dennis) of Peoria, Arizona: sons; Ronald S. Tanner (Jane) of Santaquin, Utah, John H. Russon (Anne) of Seal Beach, California: daughters-in-law; Merete Svendsen Russon Clayburgh (Gary) and Nancy M. Hoover Russon (David): 43 grandchildren; 103 great-grandchildren; and 6 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by sons: Kim, David, Stephen and Michael, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The family wishes to express thanks to all the staff in the Cardiac Unit at Dixie Regional Medical Center and at Coral Desert Rehabilitation for the tender and concerned care given to Lyn during her stays at these two fine facilities. We felt welcome to be with her at any time.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 11:00 a.m.at the Green Valley Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 511 South Valley View Drive St. George, Utah. Visitations will be held Friday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 W. St. George Blvd. and Saturday, prior to services, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the LDS Stake Center above. Interment will be in the St. George City Cemetery under the direction of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221. For condolences, full obituary, and funeral listings please visit our website www.metcalfmortuary.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the General Missionary Fund or Temple Patron Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Saint George City Cemetery, Saint George, Washington County, Utah
