Barbara Johnson, 82
Barbara Mae (Magee) Johnson died of pulmonary fibrosis on Sept. 11, at the age of 82. She was born in the Soboba Indian Hospital, in California, on Aug. 31, 1928, and grew up on the Pala Indian Reservation in northern San Diego County. She graduated from high school in Fallbrook, Calif., in 1947. In November 1950, she married Harmon Johnson, who was in the U.S. Air Force at the time, and went to live in Albuquerque, N.M. for the duration of his assignment.
They then moved to the Santa Clara-San Jose area where they lived for 42 years. For the last dozen years, she has resided in Coeur d'Alene.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Paul Magee and Delfreda Trujillo Magee, her brother, Eugene Magee, and her daughter, Melanie Caputo. She leaves behind her husband of nearly 60 years, Harmon Johnson, and seven children, including sons Gordon, Paul, Kenneth, Geoffrey, Ben, and daughters Debra Wirth and Bonnie King, and 24 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.
Barbara's life was guided by two abiding faiths - faith in God, and faith in family. She was a devoted parishioner of the Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls, lending her soprano voice to the church choir for as long as she could negotiate the steps to the choir loft.
Her devotion to family could be tallied in the number of Band-Aids applied to scraped knees, the number of green beans cleaned for big family dinners, and the number of hours spent on cold bleacher seats watching grandchildren play sports. She grew up with sports, played softball in her youth, and was elected president of the girl's athletic club at Fallbrook High. She truly enjoyed all kinds of athletic competition, and remained a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers. Most importantly, she looked for the good in people, for the upbeat in life, and for laughter in even the direst of circumstances.
A Rosary is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, at Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls. A Sung Requiem Mass will be offered at 12:15 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 16, followed by a reception in the church basement. She will be buried at the Pala Indian Reservation cemetery in California on Friday, Sept. 24.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her name to the Hospice of North Idaho.