Marilyn Matson Jones

Marilyn Matson Jones, 87, left this earthly plane and crossed the rainbow bridge on October 1, 2025.

Born on August 26, 1938, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Marilyn was the oldest child and only daughter of Ralph and Estelle Matson. She grew up in Sugar House alongside her brothers Richard, Paul, and John, graduating from South High School in 1956.

In 1957, Marilyn married Richard Truman Porath, and together they built a home in Granger, Utah, where they raised six children: Debby (D’Lynn), Scott, Sherri, Michelle, Russell, and Robbie. Robbie and Michelle passed away during this period. After their divorce in 1969, Marilyn found the love of her life, Thomas DeRece Jones. They married in 1970, creating a blended family that included his daughter, Diana. Though life’s path brought challenges and a brief divorce, their love endured, and they ultimately remarried and spent it together until Tom’s passing in 2003. Marilyn lived over 50 years in Mendon, Utah.

Education and service were cornerstones of Marilyn’s life. She earned her Associate’s degree in Nursing and Intensive Care from BYU in 1969 and became a registered nurse, dedicating herself to emergency and intensive care. Her passion for learning led her back to school, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Utah State University with a Bachelor’s degree in English (1986) and later a Master’s degree in Psychology (1991). Her career included serving as an administrator at Logan Regional Hospital’s Mental Health Unit and later at Bear River Mental Health, where her empathy and insight—born of her own challenges—allowed her to help countless individuals in meaningful and personal ways.

Marilyn’s life was rich with creativity, curiosity, and a deep love of nature. Raised in the LDS faith, she sang in choirs throughout her life and later embraced a wide variety of spiritual traditions, cultivating an open and expansive worldview. She loved music, symphonies, literature, and art, and was an avid reader and writer. She had a beautiful singing voice, a sharp wit, and an irreverent sense of humor that could bring light even to difficult times.

Moving to Mendon opened a new chapter. Together with Tom and the children, she created a lively homestead filled with animals of every kind—horses, cows, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, chickens, geese, ducks, peacocks, guinea hens, and more. Springtime often meant lambs warming in the kitchen or baby chicks under a heat lamp. Denied pets as a child, Marilyn delighted in making up for it, and her love of animals lasted throughout her life. She especially cherished her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Ollie, and grieved his loss deeply.

Marilyn also embraced a pioneering, creative spirit—dyeing and spinning wool from her sheep into tapestries, grinding wheat for bread, and making butter from her Jersey cow’s milk. Books and writing were her lifelong companions, as were the outdoors, the desert, and the mountains where she felt most spiritually at home. She was a member of the Audubon Society, an avid birder who could name nearly every species she encountered.

Above all, Marilyn will be remembered for her intelligence, resilience, empathy, and independent spirit. She lived life on her own terms and gave her family the gift of love, laughter, and wisdom.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Estelle Matson; her brothers Paul and John Matson; her first husband, Richard Porath; her beloved Tom Jones; and her children Michelle Porath, Robert Todd Porath, and Richard Scott Porath.

She is survived by her children: D’Lynn Cherrie, Anita Porath, Diana Jones, Sherri (Keith) Miller, and Russell (Brenda) Porath. She is also survived by her brother: Richard (Sandra) Matson. Her greatest joy was her family, especially her 16 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, who carry forward her spirit of love, humor, and curiosity.

A funeral for Marilyn will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 11:00 am at White Pine Funeral Services, 753 S 100 E, Logan, Utah.  A viewing will be held prior to the service from 9:30 to 10:30 am.  The interment will be at the Mendon City Cemetery.

Marilyn's service can be viewed via Zoom at the following link: CLICK HERE TO WATCH SERVICE VIA ZOOM