Mrs. Nanny Kiss Johanson

84, Indianapolis, passed away March 6, 2015. She is survived by her husband, Ilo Charles Johanson; son, Mark Johanson (April); and granddaughters, Amanda and Alyssa Johanson. She was preceded in death by her son, Erik Johanson.

Nanny lived an enormous life. She was born on February 19, 1931 in a small community, Allikukivi in the County of Parnumaa, Estonia in the southern part of Estonia. As the communists were re-entering the Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1944, at the age of 13, Nanny and her family fled to Germany to escape the probable deportation to Siberian labor camps. In Germany, they first settled in what was to remain the Russian Zone, so they fled again westward to reach the so-called American Zone, finally settling in the Displaced Persons’ Camps where later she was able to attend an Estonian High School. She was finally able to immigrate to America to start a new life, sponsored by Lutheran Churches. Working menial jobs to help support her family, she was eventually able to attend a Lutheran Junior College in Bronxville, New York. She then transferred to Indiana University where she earned her B.S. in Medical Technology in 1953. She married Ilo in 1955 and two sons, Mark and Erik were born of their union. Nanny flourished within her profession and worked within the Community Hospital network for 41 years, retiring in 1995.