Lisa (Smith) JOHNSON HESS

SMITH, HESS, JOHNSON, BORK, BORIC, HRUBES, MAACH, PEARSON

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:56

April 24, 1955 ---- June 24, 2009

Lisa (Smith) Hess passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at the Mercy Hospice Johnston. She was 54 years old. Determined to live every day to the fullest, Lisa was surrounded at the end by her loving family. Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 51, Lisa continued to do the things she loved most, including gardening, traveling to Arizona to be with her family, and to always, no matter what, seek out her own little place in the sun. At the end, Lisa was lovingly cared for by her family and closest friends.

Lisa had a fulfilling 25 year career working for dentists in Des Moines and Northfield, MN. When she wasn't working, she could usually be found in one of her many, beloved perennial gardens. Gardening wasn't her only passion, though. Lisa was determined to be the best mother and grandmother she could possibly be. Nothing was more important to her than her daughters and two grandsons. Lisa's loving heart and kindness to animals is also well known, her many beloved pets were, and are, a testament to that. Lisa and her husband Joel also loved to attend high school sporting events, especially football and baseball games. Joel fell in love with Lisa the first time he saw her in 7th grade art class. Married in December, 1981, they spent 28 years together, sharing all of the things they held most dear. Both considered themselves extremely lucky to have found each other.

She graduated high school in Norwalk, IA, then attended the University of Northern Iowa, where she met her first husband, Herman Johnson. Graduating in 1977, Lisa eventually returned to Norwalk where she reconnected, fell in love with, and married Joel. A member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Lisa's most spiritual moments were spent in what she described as her own church of the "open sky."

Lisa is survived by husband, Joel; daughters, Shannon Johnson of Des Moines and Phoenix, and Rachel Johnson of Eden Prairie, MN; and grandsons, Christopher Johnson and Donovan Bork. She is also survived by her mother, Marilyn Hrubes of Des Moines; and father, Ellwyn (Bus) Smith of Peoria, AZ; sisters, Lizabeth (Denny) Maach of Phoenix, AZ, and Melinda (Todd) Pearson of Norwalk; brother, Timothy also of Norwalk; two step-brothers; and four step-sisters. Lisa was preceded in death by her grandparents and step-father George (Mike) Hrubes.

Memorial contributions may be made in Lisa's memory to the Animal Rescue League, or in Lisa's name to Valley Grove Preservation Society, Box 75, Nerstrand, MN 55053. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 27, at Iles Funeral Homes ~ Westover Chapel, 6337 Hickman Road, Des Moines, Iowa and the family will greet friends following the service until 5 p.m. Private scattering of her remains will be at a later date.

http://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Lisa-Smith-Hess/Des-Moines-IA/683447

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[Lisa Smith spent her early years in Eagle Grove, Iowa]