Vera Mae Johnson (nee: Christensen)
Mom passed peacefully in her sleep at 78, on Sunday morning, December 11, 2022 in Trail, BC.
Born in Kimberley, BC on September 10, 1944, she would cross paths with her future husband Philip (Phil) Johnson (b. Riondel, 1938) more than once, culminating in them trading towns, back and forth, before deciding enough was enough on April 7, 1962, when they married… in Riondel.
Vera is predeceased by her father, Hans, three of her brothers, Wilfred, Harvey, and Alan, her mother, Alice Ethel (Doyle), her husband Phil, her daughter Kathleen, and sisters-in-law Joyce Johnson (nee: Johnson) and Kathleen Williams (nee: Johnson).
Mom is survived and sorely missed by her brother Grant Christensen, sister Audrey Soles, sons Kevin and Robert (Lori), daughter Christiana (Louis), and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, inlaws, outlaws, and grandchildren.
Mom was careful to teach her children how to cook by making it a survival skill. Her weapon of choice was her electric frying pan, and to this day her surviving children don’t own one. Her Christmas fudge, shortbread and rootbeer, however, is the stuff of legends, and only very carefully recreated. The peanut brittle… not so much.
She and Phil bounced around his teaching jobs, living variously in Hamiota, MB, and Cranbrook, Castlegar, and Sparwood, BC – where they mostly settled down, staying 26 years, cultivating numerous friendships, and a passion for curling, macrame, knitting, and outdoor activities.
Once she was sure her children could handle themselves, Mom changed her focus to volunteer work in the Library at Mountain View Elementary in Sparwood, in 1984. She moved on to volunteer work with the Sparwood Public Library in 1990, assisting with its move from the basement of St. Barbara’s to its current location.
As they couldn’t get rid of her, they gave her a librarian position in 1992 until she retired in April 2000, and a move back to Castlegar.
Mom loved the Kootenays, and wouldn’t leave them. Later in life she would take a few trips out to Alberta and Ontario to see her grandchildren, but her home was the Kootenay valley.
Mom loved her grandchildren. She also loved dogs, bicycling, books, puzzles, rolling her eyes at her husband, and a glass of whiskey on ice – not necessarily in that order, and only rarely all at once. One was hard-pressed to find Mom not holding a pen to a crossword puzzle.
Mom wasn’t big on formality, so by her request no service will be held. We thank the staff of Columbia View Lodge in Trail, BC for taking good care of Mom in her declining years. Andreas Schmitz of Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services™ has been entrusted with arrangements.
As an expression of sympathy, donations made in Vera’s memory to the Alzheimer Society of Canada (alzheimer.ca) would be greatly appreciated.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence.
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Vera Mae Johnson December 11th 2022 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
Death notice for the town of: Trail, Province: Colombie britanique