Helen Inez Johnson

August 6, 1923- April 29, 2014

Resident of Pacific Grove

Helen Inez Johnson passed away at the age of 90 after a long and extended illness. She will be forever missed by her friends. Her kindness touched all who knew her and her generous spirit will long be remembered.

She was born in Long Beach, California, and was an only child. She was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Inez Johnson. She left home at the age of 18 to attend the University of California, Davis, also called the “University Farm”. Helen was one of a handful of pioneering women at the University. Her time there however, was interrupted by World War II, when the university was taken over by the US Army Signal Corps. She subsequently transferred to the University of California at Berkeley, where she graduated in 1945 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Poultry Husbandry and Animal Pathology.

After college, Helen worked at Kimber Poultry Breeding Farms in Niles, Ca, and, later for the University of California in the radiation laboratory. In 1960-61 she received medical technology training at Letterman Army Hospital, becoming a board certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Her career took her many places including radioisotope work at the following hospitals: American River Hospital in Carmichael, CA; the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in San Francisco, CA, and the U.S. Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco, CA. She retired from the Nuclear Medicine Department at Natividad Medical Hospital in Salinas, CA.

In her spare time, Helen was a devoted advocate for animals, and will be missed by her loving pet, Shorty, who is now in the capable hands of Andrea Darin.

Helen was a strong advocate for the Western Monarch butterfly, and sponsored the Monarch Alert Program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She also sponsored workshops of the Monarch Teacher Network at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Gilroy Gardens, and at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Newark, Ca. Miss Johnson participated and/or funded conferences such as the Monarch Population Dynamics Conference in Lawrence, Kanas; the Western Monarch Symposium in Fremont, CA; “The Monarch Butterfly in Western North America”-a Cal Poly video production; and the Western Monarch Symposium (2006) in Pacific Grove, CA.

Additionally, Miss Johnson recognized the importance of bats, and

sponsored efforts by the Bat Conservation International

Organization including scholarships for the bat workshops

conducted by the Western section of the Wildlife Society.

Miss Johnson had a special place in her heart for the outreach work at St. Anne’s Mission: Navajo Nation, in Klagetoh, Arizona. She sponsored a multitude of activities there over the years including providing food baskets, wood burning stoves, and assistance in the mission’s work with the parishioners. Miss Johnson spoke passionately about the plight of the Navajo people. Her concern for the Navajo was deeply personal and profound.

In 2009, Miss Johnson moved from her beloved condominium in Salinas, Ca to Canterbury Woods, a retirement community in Pacific Grove, CA., where she could receive the care she would need in her later years. She grew fond of the staff of Canterbury Woods and felt very much at home in this safe environment. During her time at Canterbury, she spent a considerable amount time in the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, where she became especially fond of the staff there, who, also provided the best of care for her.

A Celebration of Life will be held in the fall of 2014 when the Monarchs return to their overwintering sites on the coast. The program will be held at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Pacific Ave. Pacific Grove, CA 93950. In the interim, donations may be made to St. Anne’s Mission Outreach Services at PO Box 366, Chambers, AZ 86502-0366 in memory of Helen Johnson.

Arrangements under the direction of The Paul Mortuary, Pacific Grove, CA.