Born in Reno, Nevada on July 30, 1924, she was the daughter of the late Dr. Arthur Martin Bowman and Ida (Schmidt) Bowman.
After the early death of her beloved father, she and her mother returned to Brooklyn, NY.
She attended New York schools and earned an RN Degree from the Long Island College Hospital School of Nursing. During World War II she met and married Naval Officer and Doctor John Howard Johnston and eventually moved to Pittsburgh, PA, thereafter Hartford, CT, and finally Wethersfield.
Iola was a devoted and caring mother, wife and grandmother. She was active in the Methodist Church, the Wethersfield Library Board and served as a Town Council member. She was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels as well as the Connecticut Humane Society where her love of animals was expressed in countless hours taking dogs to local nursing homes for pet therapy. Iola remained an avid reader throughout her life and followed her interests by earning a BA in History at CCSU. She also managed to pursue this love of reading by helping out at the McAuley library up to the time of her passing.
Iola loved to travel throughout the US and internationally to medical conventions with her husband.
Iola is survived by two sons, Richard B. Johnston of Sarasota, FL and Todd H. Johnston and his wife Diane of Glastonbury, a daughter Betsy Johnston of Glastonbury, five grandchildren, Julia Whitney Johnston, Andrew Champion Johnston and his wife Katie, Katherine Todd Johnston Cressey and her husband Marc, Matthew Johnston Bartlett and John Robert Bartlett, a great granddaughter, Eleanor Charlotte Johnston as well as several extended family members. Besides her husband and her parents, she was sadly predeceased by a grandson, Richard William Bartlett.
Iola’s passing is painful and difficult. Our only comfort is the memory of her kindness, humor and virtue.
The funeral services and burial were private.
May God Bless Iola Catherine Bowman Johnston and may she join her beloved husband, grandson, family relatives and pets.
Funeral services were entrusted to the D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Blvd., Wethersfield.
To leave a message for the family, please visit www.desopofuneralchapel.com
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