Mildred Johnson's Obituary
Mildred was born on the family farm in Badger, MN October 1, 1925. She went to a one room country school house and the teacher often boarded in their home. When the weather was bad, her dad took them to school on a 2-horse sleigh with bells ringing.
9 to 12th grades were spent in Roseau MN, where she graduated in 1943. She worked afternoons in the library, after school at JC Penney and evenings at Nelson’s Café.
It was hard working the fields, first with horses and eventually a tractor, but she loved being outside. Then there were cows to milk, chickens and pigs to feed, sheep to shear, rocks to haul, grain to shuck, hay to stack, cream delivered to town 3 times a week, and the vegetable garden to take care of. They made their own butter, and canned vegetables, chicken and pork. Mildred totally disliked laundry day wherein she had to carry water in to boil and then carry it out to the wash house. Clothes were scrubbed on a wash board and then hung on the line to dry. Everything had to be ironed.
Mildred was confirmed in 1942 and thereafter taught Sunday School and vacation Bible school every summer in Roseau and later in Tacoma. She was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and directed the kids’ Christmas pageant back in the day. Mildred was a 4H leader and a McKinley booster.
Mildred married Clarence Johnson in June of 1944 and moved to the Johnson farm. In January of 1945 Clarence was diagnosed with TB. After a 2.5-year hospitalization in Thief River Falls Clarence headed for Washington to find work and a house. Mildred followed a short time later with the first 3 children. They purchased the family home in 1955 where their 6 children were raised, Sharon Starr, Wayne (Sue) Johnson, Joy Riggins (deceased), Pamela (Stephen) Widener, Rocky Johnson (deceased) and Kevin Johnson. Mildred had 8 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
From 1958 - 1960 Mildred worked as a supervisor at United Cerebral Palsy. She then began a 30-year career as supervisor for Evergreen Plastic, who eventually changed its name to Xytec Plastic.
When Mildred’s son was seriously injured in an automobile accident in 1982, she joined the Pierce County Blind Association. She was secretary/treasurer for a number of years. In her 30+ years as a member she had yearly summer garage sales at her home to finance the “Rocky C. Johnson Scholarship Fund” which assisted blind students in furthering their education.
Mildred passed peacefully in her home of 65 years on April 9, 2020. As she said to us, “Good Night and Good Bye”.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Franciscan Hospice Foundation, P. O. Box 1502, Tacoma, WA 98401.
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