Ethel Johnson

Ethel L. Johnson, 89, of Waukon, died Tuesday, February 22, 2005, at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Funeral services were held Saturday, February 26 at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon, with Rev. Steve Campbell officiating. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon was in charge of arrangements.

Ethel Laura Elizabeth was born April 9, 1915, in Faith, S.D., the daughter of Benjamin and Frances Pearl (Hastings) Kellison. In 1927, at the age of 12, she moved with her family to Allamakee County. Ethel attended rural schools in both South Dakota and Allamakee County.

On February 12, 1934, she married Myron C. “Spike” Johnson in Waukon. Ethel worked as a nurse’s aid at the Good Samaritan Center from 1954 to 1967 and at Northgate Care Center from 1967 until retiring in 1982. Since 1999 she has been a resident of Northgate Care Center.

Ethel was a member of Forest Mills United Methodist Church. She enjoyed sewing quilts, embroidery, playing cards, and dancing. She also loved raising flowers in her garden, baking, and doing all the special things around her home to make it a friendly and comfortable place for family and friends to gather.

Survivors include her three children, JoAnn (John) Tangen of Dorchester, Iowa, Geraldine (Peter) Statler of Lyndon Station, Wis., and Wayne (Bonnie) Johnson of Waukon; a daughter-in-law, Donna Johnson of Marion, Iowa; 12 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and two sisters-in-law, Myrtle Kellison of Decorah and Norma Meyer of Cedar Rapids.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Myron “Spike”, who died in 1958; a son, Arlynn “Butch” Johnson; three sisters, Nettie McBain, Hazel Gullickson, and infant Dolly; and two brothers, Donald and Harold Kellison.