Obituary of Emilee Janice Maughan

Emilee’s first few years were spent in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Falls Church, Virginia. During the Great Depression, her dad, Reed Maughan, moved from Utah to D.C. in the hope of finding work. He was able to hire on as an officer with the White House Police Department. Myrtle Walters, also of Wellsville, Utah, relocated to Washington, D.C. where they were married and had the first three of their four children. Emilee was too young to remember her first brush with fame, which occurred at a White House Christmas party to which the Roosevelts invited all the staff and officers. She was so frightened by Eleanor Roosevelt that she cried and screamed and wouldn’t sit on the First Lady’s lap for a photo. Another favorite family story about Emilee had to do with her mortal fear of snakes. No one is sure whether she actually saw a snake or just thought she did during a hike in the Wasatch foothills, but in just one swift move she jumped onto her older brother, Richard, and refused to walk any further. While she eventually got over her fear of Mrs. Roosevelt, she remained afraid of snakes the rest of her life. The booming post-war years brought the young family back to Logan, Utah where Emilee completed her public schooling and her first years at Utah State University where she met and married Arnold Cernik. They moved to Illinois where her three children would be born - Jacquie, Karyn, and Allen. Emilee and the kids moved back West in 1977 and within a couple of years, she found a job at the College of Southern Idaho. From 1979 until she retired in 2003, Emilee was an integral part of the College of Southern Idaho family. For the first couple of years, she worked in the Business Office. The great majority of her CSI career was Administrative Assistant for Claudeen Beuttner, Chair of Nursing, Health Sciences and Human Services. She enjoyed the many friends she made during her CSI years and remained close with Claudeen throughout her life. Left behind and missing her are children, Karyn McKenna and Allen Cernik, two brothers, Richard and Doug, and five nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter Jacquie, sister Kathleen, two nephews and one niece. Emilee wanted no muss or fuss to be made when she died so the family honors her wish with cremation and no service. In keeping with her lifelong love of animals, donations in her memory can be made to People For Pets Humane Society in Twin Falls. Emilee’s sudden passing took us all by surprise. There was no time for last words or sentiments. Our family encourages everyone reading this to tell the people you love that you love them. Don’t let opportunities go by. Good intentions don’t cut it and tomorrow is just an illusion.