Winifred T. Johnson

Morna Toliver. She married Gordon H Johnson on Christmas Eve 1948 at the Presbyterian

Church in Ft Collins. Gordon and Winnie were blessed with three children during their marriage: Morna, Missy, and Gavin.

Winnie was an independent, strong, and highly intelligent person. She attended CSU majoring in Textiles & Clothing Design. She created and sewed complete outfits including matching velvet & white organza Christmas dresses for herself and her two daughters. A perfectionist in everything she did Winnie also upholstered her furniture when the family lived on Balsam Lane in Ft Collins.

An accomplished artist she created oil and watercolor paintings and enjoyed artistic events such as the Loveland Sculpture Show and the Fort Collins Symphony especially when neighbor and good friend Will Schwartz was conductor. She loved Children's Theatre and participated in weekly duplicate bridge games with friends and neighbors. An avid reader Winnie would purchase books she especially enjoyed to gift friends and family.

Winnie was always an adventurous woman. As a teen she spent summers with her Uncle John and Aunt Harriet Toliver on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. She also spent a year with brother Fred Toliver and family in California. Later there were many summer trips for the family all over the western US and Canada during the years husband Gordon was employed in the Exploration Department of the Ideal Cement Company. She loved taking her family on hikes, camping, and other escapades such as a two week canoe trip to the boundary waters in Minnesota. Gordon and Winnie with other parent volunteers accompanied Max Getts, Ted Rhodes and 65 Girl Scouts on the trip.

She enjoyed attending her son Gavin's marriage to Fabiana Wallace in Argentina as well as exploring Buenos Aires and Rosario. Summertime trips to Portland, OR to visit Gavin, Fabiana and grandson Cipriano were also a treat.

Winnie was a committed athlete spending many years participating in ballet with Phyllis Basri and in Jazzercise she enjoyed with daughter Morna. Winnie joyfully jogged daily into her seventies and eighties accompanied by her canine pals Orley and Cooper. There were also many Friday ski trips to Hidden Valley with friends Sue Alexander and Jean Griswold.

Wiinnie worked in her Father’s hardware store, Toliver’s, Inc. on Mason Street, with her brothers John and Tom in Fort Collins for a number of years managing the seed and paint departments. She was also employed by the Fort Collins Police Department for many years preparing case reports and was highly respected by police officers and detectives for her grammar and punctuation skills.

Winnie was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon, her sisters Jane Clayburn, Mary Louise Holder, and Frances Denton; her brothers John M and Fred Toliver; and her parents. She is survived by her three children and spouses: Morna (David) Mynard and Missy (Sam Spurgeon) Johnson both of Ft Collins, CO and Gavin (Fabiana) Johnson of Portland, OR; and grandchildren Tyler Mynard of Ft Collins, CO Seth Spurgeon of Laramie, WY, Simonne Spurgeon of Ft Collins, CO and Cipriano Johnson of Portland, OR.; sister, Ruth J. Toliver of Arvada, CO.; and brother Tom Toliver of Fort Collins, CO. Winnie was lovingly cared for by her daughter nurse Missy Johnson throughout the last two years of her life.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2015, 10:00AM, at the Allnutt Drake Chapel, 650 West Drake Street, Ft Collins.