Denise Brands, 60

Denise (Johnson) Brands was born to Wayne and Jayne Johnson at the Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco on June 5, 1964. She was born four months premature and had to fight for her life when she entered the world. Wayne was granted emergency leave to fly home from Vietnam to see his daughter because the doctors did not believe she would survive. She did survive and grew up in Petaluma, Calif., with her parents, brother and sister. 

She met the love of her life in Colstrip, Mont. Her fate was sealed when she agreed to exchange a ride on her Harley-Davidson for an airplane ride with her future husband, David. That was just the start of their adventures for the next 37 years.

Whether skiing, camping or spending time at the family cabin on Lake Coeur d’Alene, the two deeply enjoyed one another. Together, David and Denise had two children, Lindsay and Zack.

In addition to being a mom, Denise enjoyed riding horses and was active in the local horse club. She worked as a veterinary assistant and caregiver to many animals, and she especially loved her cats. She also worked in the medical industry as a Certified Medical Assistant for many years.

Denise is survived by her husband, David Brands, her children, Zack Brands and Lindsay (Brands) Metcalf. She’s also survived by her mother, Jayne Johnson, brother Chris Johnson and sister Natalie (Johnson) Jennings.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to Companions Animal Center (formerly Kootenai County Humane Society) in Denise's name. The link for that is: www.companionsanimalcenter.org.