JOHNSON, Sharon Elaine (Byrd) 1942-2011

JOHNSON, BYRD, HANSEN, LEIF, STEVENS

Posted By: Diane M Scott (email)
Date: 3/17/2012 at 15:22:23

Sharon Elaine (Byrd) Johnson – October 31, 1942 – February 17, 2011

Sharon Johnson, age 68, of Bemidji, Minn., went to be with her Lord and Savior after a five-year battle with dementia and Alzheimer's, on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, at her home.

Memorial service will be at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, at Faith Baptist Church, Bemidji, with the Rev. Derek Claypool officiating. Family will greet friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be in the LeRoy Cemetery, LeRoy.

Arrangements were entrusted to the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Bemidji.

Sharon Elaine Johnson was born Oct. 31, 1942, to Carroll and Hila (Hansen) Byrd in Osage, Iowa. She grew up on the family farm and attended Bailey Country School. She graduated from LeRoy High School in 1961. Sharon was secretary to the registrar at Winona State College. On June 28, 1963, she married Gary Allen Johnson in LeRoy.

Gary's profession brought them to Battle Creek, Mich., and Austin, Minn., where Sharon was a secretary in the Austin Public School system. Sharon enjoyed reading, traveling, bird watching, cross stitching, playing piano and being a passenger on Gary's motorcycle.

Upon retirement in 2000, Sharon and Gary became full-time RV'ers and traveled extensively in North America. In 2006, they built a home in Branson, Mo., and in 2008, they moved to Bemidji.

She is survived by her husband, Gary Johnson of Bemidji; daughter, Diane (Thomas) Leif of Bemidji; son, Michael Johnson of Oakdale, Minn.; sister, Mary Stevens of Walnut Shade, Mo.; and brother, Mark (Julie) Byrd of LeRoy.

She was preceded in death by her parents and daughter, Debra L. Johnson.

Rochester Post Bulletin, Monday Feb. 21, 2011.