After tragedy, man hopes others follow late fiancee's motto

HATCH, Garfield County — Less than 24 hours after Scott Barney proposed to his fiancee, she died in a small plane crash.

Now five months later, the memory of his proposal at the Cedar Ridge Golf Course still lingers. But Barney, 22, wants the world to know how great Mandy Johnson was. While he still mourns her loss, he has adopted her life motto in his daily activities.

"She was amazing," Barney grins as he recalls his fiancee.

Johnson, 20, was one of 10 employees of the Cedar City Red Canyon Aesthetics and Medical Spa dermatology clinic who died after helping Moab residents at one of the company's satellite sites.

" She was all-girl," recalls her mother, Susan Johnson. "Boys, fashion, purses, shopping. Yet she was also a Sterling Scholar in agriculture science."

As a junior majoring in communications at Southern Utah University, she loved to give tours for prospective students. She was also a Washington County Fair first attendant and Miss Hurricane.

Her pageant platform? "Kindness is contagious — catch it."

"Kindness was a gift … her gift of spirits," says her father, Bevin Johnson.

One thing that especially impressed Scott? "Her love for children."

"Theirs was a cute love story," says Scott's mom, Terry Barney, postmaster in Hatch. "From day one, they were inseparable."

Currently a pre-dental student studying finance, Barney plans on becoming an orthodontist or pediatric dentist. He grew up in a close family of seven brothers and excelled in sports at Panguitch High.

He felt one thing was missing from his life, until he met Mandy Johnson.

"I knew she was something special because she never stopped smiling no matter what was going on. She even said she never had a bad day," remembers Barney.

When speaking about Johnson, Barney lights up.

"In high school, she remembered everyone's name and something about them so that when she'd see them she could talk to them."

Still smiling, reminiscing, Barney appears to be elsewhere, deep in thought.

"Happy. She was always happy and caring because of her love for people; it was really genuine no matter who she was around."