Mary Elva Johnson, 95

Mary Elva Johnson, 95, died of natural causes at Colonial Manor in Whitefish.

Mary was born Jan. 23, 1910, in Frisco, Okla., to James Pascal and Myrtle Elizabeth Patton, the middle child of five children, including James, Bertha, Roxie and Pascal.

Mary attended school in Alex, Okla. She had her first paying job when she was 12, cooking and serving at a restaurant.

Mary met the love of her life, John Franklin Johnson, at a dance where John and two brothers provided the music. They were married Oct. 27, 1928, in Marlow, Okla.

They traveled throughout the Western states renovating mattresses, including the lodges in Glacier National Park.

Mary's first child, John Pascal, was born in Whitefish. Five years later her daughter, Barbara Jane, was born in Ellsworth, Kan.

She was a talented seamstress, sewing clothes for herself and her family. She also made dolls, including Paul Bunyon, the Blue Ox and Dolly Parton.

After Pearl Harbor, the family settled in Wichita, Kan., where Mary's husband worked for Boeing. Mary's sisters and sisters-in-law also worked for defense factories. Mary contributed to the war effort by caring for her nephews and nieces while their mothers worked.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband. She is survived by her sister, Roxie Altimus, of El Cajon, Calif.; her son, John, and wife, Lonna Johnson, of Elko, Nev.; her daughter, Barbara, and husband, Sidney Golie, of Whitefish. She has 10 living grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Sept. 28, 2007, at Austin Funeral home in Whitefish. Viewing will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Sept. 27. Interment will be at Glacier Memorial Gardens.

She will be missed by those who love her.