Red Lake Falls – Elsie Johnson, 100, died Friday, April 29, 2005 at Hillcrest Nursing Home, Red Lake Falls.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 6, at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls, where a prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will also be held for one hour prior to the funeral at the church.
Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 7 at Calvary Lutheran Church in St. Hilaire, with Rev. Terri Cuppett officiating. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Thief River Falls.
Elsie Beryle Blair Johnson was born February 18, 1905 in Langdon, N.D., the daughter of James Dick and Vera Christina (Johnson) Blair. She moved to Mahnomen in 1906 with her mother and two sisters. In December 1910, the family moved to Thief River Falls where she attended school and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1924. She graduated from Teachers Training in 1925 and then taught in a one-room schoolhouse near Hazel for three years.
She married Norman L. Johnson in Minneapolis on August 12, 1928. Norman and Elsie moved back to Thief River Falls in 1931. She was a homemaker and partner in farming in Smiley Township until they moved to St. Hilaire in 1969 where she and her husband operated a lefse shop and then an antique shop for many years. They retired to Thief River Falls in 1993. They were married for 67 years until Norman passed away in 1995.
She was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church and was active in teaching Sunday school and Ladies Aid. After moving to St. Hilaire, she became very active in Calvary Lutheran Church in St. Hilaire – teaching, quilting, Ladies Aid and Altar Guild. In her later years she was an avid quilter and many enjoyed the fruits of her labor.
She is survived by her daughters, Joan (David) Strong of Thief River Falls, Gloria (Jerry) Borm of Waconia; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; one half-sister, Mildred Pielow of Detroit Lakes; former son-in-law and special friend, David M. Sorvig; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Norman; one daughter in infancy; two grandchildren; two sisters, Myrtle Stenberg and Belle Erickson; two step-brothers, Delbert and Donald Erickson; four step-sisters, Bernice, Doris, Vera and Elaine.
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