Ilse Eugenie Johnson

Ilse E. Johnson passed away July 14, 2025, after a 17-year battle with Alzheimer's dementia. She is survived by her spouse of 54 years, William H. Johnson, her children Lara A. Johnson and Bradley W. Johnson, sister Ellen Njio, son-in-law Miles Mason, and grandchildren Liam and Beckx Mason. Ilse was preceded in death by brothers Andre Njio of Cologne, Germany and Charles Njio of Bali, Indonesia.

Ilse was born in Jakarta during the Japanese occupation in 1944. Her father, Ean Goan Njio was Indonesian-Chinese and died when Ilse was 16. Her mother, Eugenie Beckx was Eurasian and lived to age 92.

Ilse received a B.S. in law and worked as an Administrative/Executive Secretary in Indonesia. After marriage she became a devoted Foreign Service wife, raising children and supporting family transitions to and from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the U.S. We returned from the Philippines to the U.S. in 1990 for treatment of Ilse's breast cancer.

Ilse was extroverted, clever, funny, welcoming, generous, sophisticated, cosmopolitan and conversant in 5 languages. She was exceptionally creative, effortlessly able to make something beautiful out of nothing. Ilse was known in 4 countries for her "Stitch and Bitch" ladies quilting groups, and she made scores of hand stitched quilts for charity raffles and her own collection. She was funny, thrifty, spunky, smart, sharp tongued, and full hearted. She loved and supported her family and friends, and she will be missed.

As Ilse begins her celestial journey, she lives on in the afterglow of happy memories we hold in our hearts.