Eileen Johnson passed away February 4, 2020 at Covenant Shores in Mercer Island, WA. She was a member of Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Bellevue, WA.
The funeral service was held at the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Bellevue, WA. The burial was held at the Upper Hillside Cemetery in Issaquah, WA.
Eileen Marcella Larson Johnson was born May 7, 1924 to Clarence and Bertha (Moe) Larson in what was then known as Golden Valley, which has long since been included in Agassiz Wildlife Refuge in northern Minnesota. She grew up on a farm near Holt, where she was baptized and confirmed in Nazareth Lutheran Church. She attended Manor country school, then graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls.
After attending teachers training, Eileen taught in elementary schools. She continued her education, graduating from Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis, and subsequently earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in Moorhead.
Eileen became a Parish Worker and Director of Christian Education in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston. She then moved on to similar positions in churches in Houston, Minnesota and Richland, WA. From there, she moved to Seattle, WA to work as an assistant to the bishop, which is where she met and eventually married the love of her life Norm Johnson.
Norm and Eileen both had a lifelong love of books and in 1979 they established Christian Growth Resources, a Christian book distribution ministry. They spent 18 happy years together traveling around the west coast building their ministry until Norm passed away in January 1997.
In the most recent years, Eileen has devoted her time and talents to serving others, volunteering her time in many areas: quilting ministry, leading her women’s circle group and manning the Covenant Shores Healthcare center desk, just to name a few.
Eileen was a loving daughter, sister, wife and aunt, but above all she will be remembered as a kind, caring, gentle, faithful servant of God.
Eileen was preceded in death by her husband, Norman Johnson, her parents, her brothers: Chester, Vernon and Virgil; her sisters: Eleanor, Marian, Vivian, and Iris. Eileen is survived by a sister, Ardelle Daly of Bloomfield, NJ, and brothers, Clayton Larson of Red Lake Falls, and Glen Larson of Spokane, WA.