Judith Johnson, 94, a resident of Kearsarge passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Friday, April 14, 2017.
She was born on August 28, 1922 in Kearsarge, Michigan to Charles and Eriika (Bykkonen) Haapala. She was the youngest daughter of 11 children.
Judith attended Calumet High School and graduated with the Class of 1941.Following high school, Judith moved to Detroit to work at an insurance company. On September 12, 1942, Judith was united in marriage to Holger F. Johnson Jr. in Two Harbors, Minnesota where he was posted at the Coast Guard base. Following the Coast Guard, they were relocated to New York. Judith worked at Morgan Guarantee as a keypunch operator for several years. The family moved back to Kearsarge in 1965, when Holger retired from the Coast Guard. Judith then went to work as a payroll clerk at Calumet Public Hospital, retiring in 1981.
Judith was an avid gardener and enjoyed landscaping her yard. She enjoyed sewing and braiding rugs. She would complete a crossword puzzles over breakfast coffee and you would always find a jig saw puzzle on the dining room table for everyone to add a few more pieces. In the summer time, she loved picking berries and making luscious berry jams. Stream fishing was also a favorite pastime along with seeking out small evergreens for her yard.
Judith is preceded in death by an infant son, James, her parents, Charles and Eriika Haapala, her husband of 50 years, Holger Johnson, 9 sisters; Lempi Parsons, Ellen Brulla, Elma Honganen, Julia Rosemergy, Kerttu Haapala, Sylvia Haapala, Elsie Carlson, and Hulda Moilanen and 2 brothers; George Haapala, and Karl Haapala.
Judith is survived by:
Sons: Gerald (Geraldine) Johnson of Lakeworth, Florida
Thomas (Becky) Johnson of Kearsarge
Daughters: Susan (Neil) Harri of Eagle Harbor
Janet (Clarence) McDonald of Houghton
Sharon (Timothy) Sandmeier of Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Friends may call at the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home in Calumet on Thursday, April 20, 2017 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 4:00 pm at the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home with Pastor Peter Vorhes to officiate.
Burial will take place in the Lake View Cemetery in Calumet.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.ericksoncrowleypeterson.com
The Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home in Calumet is assisting the family with the arrangements.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Judith Florence Josephine Johnson (Haapala), please visit our
Heartfelt Sympathies Store.
