JOHNSON, Doris Ruth (Blough) 1918-2006

JOHNSON, BLOUGH, HOOTS, LEE, DILLION, YOUNG

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 4/9/2014 at 23:42:22

[Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Tuesday, March 28, 2006]

Doris Ruth (nee Blough) Johnson, 87, died of Parkinson's disease on March 26, 2006, at Friendship Village in Waterloo, Iowa.

She was born on Nov. 30, 1918, to Elmer E. and Elizabeth (nee Hoots) Blough. She and her sister, Edith (deceased in 2003), were raised on the family homestead dairy farm in Waterloo where they were born.

She graduated from Orange High School in 1936, and earned a B.A. degree in teaching from Manchester College in Manchester, Ind. While there, she met her future husband, Elden F. Johnson, who was studying agriculture. They were married on April 4, 1942, at the South Waterloo Church of the Brethren, her family's home church for four generations.

Her first teaching position was in Decatur, Iowa, where she taught for two years. She also taught one year in Avilla, Ind. She and Elden moved back to the Blough homestead and farmed for 10 years while raising their four children. Eventually, the farm was sold, and they moved to Kimball Avenue. She went back to teaching after the Orange School principal asked her to be their study hall teacher and to assist in the library. She kept that position for 10 years, during which time she decided to go back to school, obtaining a degree in library science from UNI. She then took a position as the assistant librarian at East High School and later was the librarian at several elementary schools in Waterloo. She retired in 1984. During her 22 years of teaching, she was a positive influence on hundreds of Waterloo folks. She will be greatly missed by those who knew her.

Her greatest joys were traveling, gardening, reading, bird watching and listening to classical music. She and Elden traveled extensively the world over, and she made comprehensive scrapbooks of each place they visited. She was an active member of the South Waterloo Church of the Brethren most of her life. She was also a member of University Women and the Retired Teachers of Waterloo.

She is survived by her husband; two daughters, Janice and her husband Hyoung Lee of Round Rock, Texas, and Jeanette and her husband David Dillion of Eagle River, Alaska; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her son, David; one grandchild; and her sister, Edith Young.

Funeral services are 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 30, 2006, at South Waterloo Church of the Brethren, with burial in Orange Township Cemetery, both in Waterloo. Public visitation 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at Locke Funeral Home, Waterloo.

Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
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