Bernice E. Johnson
Bernice E. Johnson, 83, St. Cloud
Sept. 10, 1923 - March 15, 2007
ST. CLOUD - Bernice Eleanor Johnson, age 83, St. Cloud, Minn., died Thursday, March 15, 2007, at her home.
Funeral services will be Monday, March 19, 2007, at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, St. Cloud, Minn. The Rev. Kate Schneider Bryan will officiate. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Friends and family may call on Sunday, March 18, 2007, from 5-7 p.m. at the Johnson residence, 720 13th Ave. S., St. Cloud, Minn. Burial will be in Kinkead Cemetery, Alexandria, Minn. Funeral arrangements were made by Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud, Minn.
Bernice was born Sept. 10, 1923, in Ironwood, Mich., to Sandberg Angel and Nora Christine (Kolstad) Swendsen, who immigrated to the United States from Vega, Norway. She married Milford Johnson, from Alexandria, Minn., on Oct. 14, 1941. Bernice and Milford celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Oct. 14, 2006.
Bernice's great love, beside the love for her family, was an appreciation for good art and classical music. She organized the first sidewalk art show and sale in downtown St. Cloud, then later, one at Crossroads Shopping Center. Bernice assisted in putting on an art show at Zapp Bank for a number of years. She, with the help of others, started the Central Minnesota Watercolorists in 1981. They now have 125 members.
As a member of First United Methodist Church, Bernice was active in church work, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School until her health began to fail. She was also an active member of the Sons of Norway and was fiercely proud of her Norwegian background. After graduating with honors from St. Cloud State University with a degree in art, Bernice taught art for eight years to night school adults. She loved her artist friends and thought they were the nicest people on this earth.
Survivors include her husband, Milford Johnson, of St. Cloud, Minn.; sons, Lee Johnson, of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Peter (Leona) Johnson, of Brainerd, Minn., Kurt (Julie) Johnson, of Monticello, Minn.; sister, Agnes North, of Sacramento, Calif.; nine grandchildren, Blake, Loree, Graham, Nicholas, Kristina, Erica, Jonathan, Bjorn and Annelise; and one great-grandson, Mathias.
She was preceded in death by her parents; four brothers and two sisters, Birger, Astrid, Erling, Robert, Nora and Arnold.
Memorials are preferred to Boy Scouts of America or First United Methodist Church.