Faculty Spotlight: DeeDee Mower

This semester we are celebrating the wonderful educational career of our dear DeeDee Johnson Mower. DeeDee started her education career at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, but had to put those efforts aside, when she became a young mother. She did not return to her studies until after her third child. When she returned, however, she finished her teaching degree at Weber State University, and she has been a Wildcat at heart for more than thirty years since then. During the Teacher Education graduation procession at Weber State, she was expecting her fourth child, a child who later also graduated from Weber State.

DeeDee had already been working as an ESL instructor in Jordan School District for some time before she finished her degree, and when she did graduate, she immediately took a teaching job that opened within the district. As she had amassed considerable ESL expertise, the district wanted her to move into a specialist position at the district offices where she worked for several years. At that point, the opportunity came up for her to teach in the same school that her two youngest sons attended. So, she returned to the classroom and had both her youngest sons in her classes. She taught in the local neighborhood school for fourteen years while also teaching evening ESL courses for the district and earning a Master's degree and a Doctorate. Once she had her PhD in hand, she returned home to Weber State and finished out her career as a Professor in the Teacher Education Department. 

As a professor at Weber State, really for the first time in her life, she had the opportunity to travel. Her service and scholarship have taken her to Thailand, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bhutan, China, and all around her own country. She has loved travelling with her TED colleagues and seeing the world. She has also worked extensively with the Weber State Storytelling festival where she served as the festival chair for three years. She then served as the department chair of her department for three years. She has developed many close personal relationships in her time at Weber State, in her department, in the storytelling community, and at the university at large. She has also gained a reputation as the Weber State professor most likely to be found wearing purple and for insisting on all occasions that a picture must be taken.

DeeDee's husband Gordy Mower says that her "time at Weber State has been thoroughly fulfilling and joyful" but as she was raised in the country, she has also recently felt a yearning to return to country life. A few months ago, DeeDee moved to a small ranch in central Utah. She has always loved to raise chickens, rabbits, and exotic birds. In the next phase of her life, she intends to try her hand at raising flowers and horses. She has four young granddaughters and a grandson on the way. In retirement, she is looking forward to sharing her country life with her four children and her grandchildren. 

Have fun in your retirement, DeeDee! We will miss you!

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Tributes to Dr. DeeDee Mower

Sheryl Rushton, Faculty: “It is hard to imagine this place without DeeDee. We were hired on the very same day, and from the very beginning, we walked so much of this journey side by side. We taught together, did research together, worked through the long road of promotion together, and even rode to work together that first year. Out of the five of us who started that day, DeeDee and I are the only ones who stayed all the way to full professor, and that shared history makes this goodbye feel especially personal and deeply bittersweet.

DeeDee has been so much more to me than a colleague—she has been my work sister, my friend, and someone who has stood beside me through so many seasons of life. I will miss her more than words can fully say. At the same time, I am so happy for her as she steps into this next chapter. I hope she writes the book she has always talked about, enjoys every minute with Gordy, and fully embraces the beautiful life she has worked so hard to build. I will always treasure our years together and the friendship we have shared. I love her dearly, and she will always hold a very special place in my heart.” 

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Katarina Anderson, Faculty: "During my third year at Weber, DeeDee became the department chair. In the first few weeks of her appointment, she came to my office and asked me how she can support my professional growth. That alone meant a lot. During the next three years, she was always supportive and caring. She never lost her patience with me and never missed a chance to help me grow. It meant a lot to me to have such compassionate, knowledgeable and diplomatic female leader so early in my career. 

Thank you for everything you did for us, DeeDee. We will miss you dearly!"