Cinnamon’s beautiful soul was a blessing to all who were lucky enough to be a part of her life. Her heart of gold, strength, fortitude, and passion for life radiated through everything she did. She approached all things in life with complete and unwavering determination, grit, and ingenuity. She was an amazing and devoted wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, and friend. Cinnamon loved fiercely with a love that knew no bounds. Her family was her whole world and her greatest achievement.
Cinnamon Timber (Johnston) Mullens was born on June 23, 1987 in Rapid City, S.D., to Rick and Vicky Johnston. She unexpectedly passed away on February 25, 2024 at her home in Bokchito, Okla., leaving an enormous hole in our hearts.
Cinnamon spent the first 10 years of her life on a ranch near the Belle Fourche River. From a very early age, she exhibited extreme interest in horses, ranch life, and rodeo. She had an innate and extraordinary gift for riding and working with horses that was truly remarkable for her age. The family moved to Red Owl, S.D. in 1996, where they lived for the remainder of her childhood. She made many childhood memories with her parents, younger sisters, Echo and Shania, cousins and childhood friends.
Cinnamon attended grade school in Meade County rural schools. She attended her freshmen year at Faith High School and homeschooled the remaining three years. She then attended Odessa Community College on a rodeo scholarship where she earned her degrees in Safety and Business Management. Her biggest loves were training horses and competing in rodeos. Her hard work and talent earned her numerous awards throughout her rodeo career. Later, in 2018, Cinnamon earned her Dental Assistant certification through a dental practice in Durant. She graduated top of the program and was offered a position as a Dental Assistant within that practice. Cinnamon had a passion for dentistry and took pride in providing the best care for her patients.
After college, she bought a place in Bokchito, Okla., and continued to train horses and coach youth. She met the love of her life in 2011 at a Junior Rodeo in Durant, Okla.. By chance, Jeremy’s two children, Jake and Harlee, were competing at the same rodeo. This was the first time Jeremy ever laid eyes on Cinnamon; he instantly fell in love. He, his Dad, veterinarian, and horseshoer were sitting around on the bed of a pick-up discussing this new horse trainer that just moved to the area. As they were talking about Cinn, she came riding by on a good-looking buckskin. Jeremy told the other three men that he was going to “marry that girl one day.” He had a couple of horses that needed trained for goat tying and was nervous to go ask if she had any open spots. He sent his dad to get her number and…he did in fact marry that girl one day on July 19, 2014.
Special memories for the family include barrel racing jackpots, rodeos, family kickball games, sporting events, waterpark and skiing trips, as well as yearly family vacations. Cinnamon lived for Jake and Harlee’s sporting events and developed a love for the game of baseball. Harlee became her personal hair and makeup artist for all special occasions. Cinnamon and Jeremy loved hosting various occasions at their home, cooking for family, friends, and Harlee’s basketball team. In 2021, Jeremy and Cinnamon welcomed their first blessing, Beckett Kreece, to the family, followed by their second blessing, Brewer Ledge, in 2023. Their family of six was complete. Cinnamon and Beckett shared a love for the outdoors and animals, especially their horses and dogs. Brewer was steadfastly following in Beckett’s footsteps. One of her proudest mom moments was to see Beckett win his first buckle and awards by competing on their special horse, Fancy, at the local Playdays. She was looking forward to Beckett competing in his first junior rodeos this year. Cinnamon loved and devoted every moment of her time reading, playing, and teaching her boys.
Especially grateful for having shared in her life are her husband, Jeremy, and four children Harlee, Jake, Beckett, and Brewer; parents, Rick (Tina) Johnston, Vicky (Cole) Briggs; sisters, Echo (Justin) Veit and Shania Johnston (Toby Jamison); sister-in-law, Michelle (Monty) Taylor; brother-in-law, Jeff (Tammy) Mullens, and numerous beloved nieces, nephews, family and friends.
Cinnamon was preceded in death by her grandparents, Richard Johnston and Tom and Linda Smith. Also preceding her in death were her father and mother-in-law, Jerry and Peggy Mullens, and cousins Sami Jo Bills and Reese Marchant.
A celebration of life in her honor is set for 11 a.m. on Monday, Mar. 4, 2024, at Blue River Fellowship.
Services are under the direction of Brown’s Funeral Service of Durant.