
Emma Lou Joines Kemp
September 28, 1938 - September 18, 2019Service Information
Viewing September 27, 2019 at 6:00 - 8:00 PM
2245 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, Utah
Viewing Directions: click HERE
ViewingSeptember 28, 2019 at 9:30 - 10:30 AM
2245 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, Utah
Viewing Directions: click HERE
Funeral Service September 28, 2019 at 11:00 AM
2245 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, Utah
Service Directions: click HERE
Emma Lou Joines Kemp
1938 ~ 2019
Emma Lou Joines Kemp passed away on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was born on September 28, 1938 in Jacksonville, Florida to L.C. Plampin and Charles Addison Joines. Emma graduated from South High School in Denver, Colorado. She met her husband, Norbert Alvin Kemp, on the ice rink at the University of Denver where Norb played college hockey. They were married on August 1, 1958 in Denver, and were sealed on July 6, 1965 in the Cardston Alberta Temple in Canada.
Norb and Emma raised their children in Shawnee, Kansas, from 1961 to 1982. While rearing a young family, Emma graduated from the Johnson County Community College with an associate’s degree. She later graduated from the University of Kansas with both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Education. Norb and Emma lived briefly in Pasadena, California and Chicago, Illinois before settling in Salt Lake City in 1984.
Emma’s love of meeting and talking with people was reflected in her career choices. She was employed as a reading specialist in grade schools for 11 years in Kansas. Later, while living in Pasadena and Chicago, she held positions working with the public. These opportunities influenced Emma’s decision to work in the airline industry while she was living in Salt Lake City. Emma’s first position in the industry was as a gate agent with Western Airlines. She later became a flight attendant with Delta Airlines – a position she held for nearly 20 years.
Emma was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denver at the age of 19. She accepted calls to serve and strived to complete her assignments to the best of her ability. During her life, Emma served in various callings in the Young Women and Relief Society organizations. While living in Chicago, Emma supervised the women who cleaned marble before it was placed on the exterior of the Chicago Temple. From 2004 to 2006, Norb and Emma served as service center managers for the Church in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
As an expert seamstress, Emma made many beautiful clothes and quilts with exactness. She enjoyed trips to Spring City, Utah to stitch with her beloved Pickles quilting group. Emma was an avid reader and knew the importance of children’s literacy. She enjoyed watching sports, especially college gymnastics, football, and hockey. Emma had a special place in her heart for hockey players – particularly the one she married. She loved to travel with and visit her friends and family around the world.
Emma was a compassionate woman who touched many lives. Never comfortable being the center of attention, Emma preferred to focus on those around her. She could talk to anyone about anything, and was blind to cultural, racial, economic, and generational differences when it came to connecting with people. Emma will be missed by many.
She is preceded in death by her parents, L.C. Plampin and Charles Addison Joines, her brother Kenneth, and other extended family members. She leaves behind her husband, Norbert Alvin; children, Debbie (Mike Garcia), Bryan (Aprille), and Greg; grandchildren, Siena (Steven) Davis, Andrew Hinkle, and Julia Kemp; and great-grandchild, Margaret Davis.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 28, at 11:00 am, at the Valley View Stake Center, 2245 East 3900 South, in Salt Lake City. A viewing will be held the previous evening from 6:00-8:00 pm and from 9:30-10:30 am the day of the service. Following the funeral service, interment will be at Elysian Burial Gardens, 1075 East 4580 South, Salt Lake City.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either Cardiovascular Research or Heart Failure Research, Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute. Contact David Flood at 801-442-3590.
Leave a Reply
Emma was one of the kindest and most generous people I’ve had the pleasure of associating with. God bless your family. Her legacy will live on through you
I love Norb and Emma! They brought such joy into the Jenkins home over the years! I know my mom has appreciated all of your kindnesses in supporting her with rides and friendship. Emma will be missed dearly!! Much love!
We love you Norbert. Emma (and her ever-present smile and laugh) will be greatly missed in the neighborhood.
What a lovely person… Always a smile on her face! She will surely be missed by many. I enjoyed working with her at Western Airlines and Delta Airlines. It was a privilege to know Emma.
Oh my goodness, we are so sad to learn of Emma’s passing! I had sent her Thanksgiving greetings, Christmas greetings, and then yesterday, Happy New Year. It wasn’t like her to not text back, so I reluctantly googled her name and saw her obituary.
We’ve known Emma and Norb since my husband Greg connected with her through Ancestry.com in about 2006. Her mother was a Plampin and so was my Dad’s mother. She and Dad (Bill Barefield) talked by phone often and shared family information. When she and Norb came to Texas around 2010, they rented a car and came to my parents’ house in Jacksboro to meet us. What a blessing that was! I taught PreK at the time and Emma and I traded teaching stories. We had great time that day.
We continued to communicate, she and Dad by phone and she and I by text and email. When Dad suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest in 2016, Emma let me know that she and Norb were flying to Texas to come to the funeral. What wonderful, caring, and genuine people! They did not have to do that, but they did and it warmed our hearts very much.
Emma would send me beautiful pictures of Utah’s snowy mountains and I would send her pictures of gorgeous Texas sunsets. She was a wonderful lady and a beautiful person inside and out. She and Norb were an outstanding pair. They made the world a better place by their presence and grace. So glad we knew them in the short time we did!
God bless and comfort you all as you move on with your new normal. You will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Jenilynn Barefield Lewis and Family
Jacksboro, Texas
What a beautiful tribute to a beautiful mother, wife and grandmother. She was a very accomplished woman. Her love and compassion will be sorely missed and has been very much appreciated. It is a comfort to know she is no longer suffering with illness and heart disease, God bless all family and especially Norb at this very difficult time, you are all in our prayers.