Apr 28 2008
Grandma Myrtle
Today my Grandmother Myrtle E. Johnson (Nelson) better know as Mrs. John O. Johnson, would have been 90. Each year since my Grandmother’s death my Mother sends an email with a remembrance of her. I miss my Grandmother…she was what I think a Grandmother should be…kind, caring, willing to come over and clean your apartment 
I remember one holiday, I think it was Christmas or Thanksgiving…I remember it was cold, and I didn’t feel well. Instead of making me go to church with the rest of the family my Grandmother made me toast and cut it into moon and star shapes. She brought it to me while I was laying on the couch in her living room. She was a cleaning freak and that made her hands rough. She used to come up at bedtime and scratch my back and tell me a story about the mouse that lived in the house. After she died I swear there was a morning where I felt her hands on my back and she was telling me everything was going to be okay.
She had a wicked sense of humor. One summer when my brother and cousin were visiting they were in her kitchen letting farts. The story goes that she came in and told them that if they kept it up she would let one that would blow them both out of the room!!! I wish I would have been there to actually hear her say it!
Thirteen years before she died my Grandfather John, who was her spouse for over 50 years, passed away on October 17th. My Grandfather went into the hospital first and we thought he would be fine, then my Grandmother went into the hospital the next day and we thought we’d loose her…well, my Grandfather died and my Grandmother pulled through. She used to tell me that she would see him in her dreams but was unable to talk to him. She also always told me she wanted to live a little longer to see the great-grandkids get bigger. The last thing she said to me was that she heard that I had an I-talian boyfriend and a huge rock on my finger. She died 3 days before Charley and I had planned to visit her. I like to believe that we get to be with those we love when we die, and I have this feeling that my Grandfather said to her, “Myrtle, I’ve been waiting 13 years for you!” It was September 11th, 2003 when she died.
Miss you Grandma.
Update: Found Grandma’s original obit
| Birth: | 1918 | |
| Death: | 2003 | |
| BLOOMER — Myrtle Johnson, age 85, passed away Thursday, September 11, 2003, at The Maple Wood in Bloomer. She was born April 28, 1918, in Kildeer, North Dakota, to William & Amanda (Flater) Nelson. She married John O. Johnson, June 24, 1939, in Eau Claire.
She was a member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and Women’s Fellowship, more than a 50-year member of the Bloomer Women’s Club and Women of the Moose, and a lifetime member of the Bloomer Order of the Eastern Star. She was known for her organizational skills and secretarial ability. She enjoyed playing cards, visiting with and making new friends, and spending time with her family. She is survived by one son, Michael of Minneapolis, Minn.; one daughter, Karen (Bruce) McGarigle of Wauwatosa; three grandchildren, James (Kristine) McGarigle of Stevens Point, Kristin McGarigle of New York City and Erica Rayer of White Bear Lake, Minn.; five great-grandchildren, Jaclyn, Jennifer, Jasmine and Colin McGarigle, and Katherine Rayer. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, John; one son, Curtis; one daughter, Jeanette; one brother, Orville. Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 15, 2003, at 11 a.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Bloomer. Interment will be in the Scandinavian Cemetery in the town of Woodmohr, Chippewa County. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Olson Funeral Home in Bloomer, where there will be an Eastern Star Service at 7:30 p.m. Friends may also call one hour prior to services at the church on Monday. |
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| Burial: Scandinavian Cemetery Chippewa County Wisconsin, USA |
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| Record added: Sep 11 2003 | ||
Hi Kristin,
Great remembrance. I think of Myrtle and John often. I got the cleanliness bug from grandma and the collecting bug from grampa.I have fond memories of family gatherings in Bloomer with lots of Norwegian baked goods in the den (the place where you could always find your shoes with the laces tucked in!) and all the dark woodwork.
I also remember the 6 foot high sunflowers in the backyard that overlooked Lake Como - what a majestic view then! Bloomer may have been dullsville but Myrtle and John were always full of mirth and mischief.
We had bats swooping our driveway tonight and it reminded me of the bats that swooped past our heads on the front porch at the big house. Do you think the bats were playing chicken or that they wanted a Walter’s Special to drink?
Best Wishes,
Jim
Thank you Jim. Yes, I have been attempting to make Sanbakkels, I have Grandma’s tins, and wish I had the time to make lefse! Oh, the potato goodness swathed in butter!