My mother comes from a long line of superwomen.
Strong, passionate, loving, smart, creative, devoted, fiercely loyal, and beautiful, she…like her mother and women before her…took the little she had and worked hard –and sacrificed a great deal - to transform and enrich the lives of her children and the people she loved.
“My joy in life is having my kids and helping other people. That was my goal: to help make a better life for them. I never considered it a sacrifice. It was my gift to them.”
This determined and focused desire to insure a better life for others came from a deeply personal experience of the struggles she and other people have in life, an ability to empathize, a belief in her own ability to make change, and a clear desire to make a difference for someone else whenever she could. She had a heart for strangers and people in need and always stepped up to make their lives better.
“I was brought up on a farm in Nebraska. When I was small we didn’t have very much. Everybody had to work so hard and I felt sorry for them. So I did what I could to help.”
This became a lifetime way of being for her.
Working nights to support my brother and me alone, she made sure we had every opportunity to live full and successful lives…dance and piano lessons, art supplies, education, enrichment, endless love, fun, laughter, a good sense of humor. She instilled in us strong values of right and wrong, and made sure that we understood from our earliest years that we would someday go to college.
“I never thought of giving up….I’m too stubborn”
She was always full of energy, and quick to turn daily chores into fun. She never sat down, even when serving a meal to guests. She was always doing two things at once. She danced by herself to Lawrence Welk in the living room, painted the house with a paper sack on her head, but never left home unless she looked glamorous and totally decked out. It was a joy and an adventure to grow up with her.
As her granddaughter Sally writes….
“People often describe my grandma as larger than life. And it's true, but not in the way you might think. Yes, she had a big, wonderful personality, and in her heyday wore colorful, often glittery clothes and big jewelry, and was almost six feet tall. But to me what made her larger than life was the range she lived her life with. In the same breath, she would give you the warmest hugs, give you the best advice of your life that transcended age and generations, make a witty joke, tell you how wonderful and beautiful and smart you are, cheat in a card game, flip off a nurse, show you her hot pink Christmas tree, flirt with someone, and sing her favorite country song. It wasn't just one thing that made her wonderful and unique, it was everything. She loved people with fierceness and loyalty, she took care of everyone until her last breath, and she made us all laugh, dance, and sing (literally). She was memorable to everyone who ever met her, and her presence in this world will never be forgotten.”
We all knew that we would have to let her go someday. After 96 years she deserved her reunion with her son, her beloved husband, and a lifetime of family and friends. We send her off with hearts full of gratitude and endless, wild, embracing, boundless love.
“I have had a good life. I don’t regret any of my life. I’ve had a nice long long long life. I was lucky.”
“Sayonara. See you later alligator. After while crocodile.”
FAMILY
Paulette JohnsonDaughter
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18