Beatrice Ann Johnson, 68, Weippe
Beatrice Ann (Harper) Johnson, 68, of Weippe, died Wednesday, March 14, 2012, in Lewiston.
She was born Dec. 9, 1943, in North Dakota to Charles Robert and Luella Mildred Martin Harper (McIntosh).
She married Thomas Lloyd Johnson June 8, 1960, in Asotin. They spent the majority of their 43-year marriage a few miles from Weippe in a house on Johnson Road. After Tommy's death, Beatrice continued to live in Weippe. Together they raised four daughters, who all graduated from Timberline High School.
As a teenager, Beatrice moved with her family from the railroad and farming community of Eltopia, Wash., to Weippe, and then to the Winters Creek area near Johnson Road. Bea remembered that their first visitors were two Johnson brothers (Jimmy and Tommy) in an old car that quickly got stuck in the deep snow! Everyone helped to push the car out of the snowbank and friendships were formed. Tommy and his large family soon became regular visitors to the home on Winters Creek. After Bea and Tommy were married, they made their home on Johnson Road near the mill site. In this predominantly male environment, Bea quickly became the matriarch of a large group of young, rambunctious brothers. Throughout her life, she was continually called on to support the family with their daily needs. She could be counted on for a hot meal, clean clothes, bandages and practical advice. She has been a sister, mother and grandmother to many who extend far beyond her own family. She was our homemaker.
Later in life, as the family grew up and moved away, Bea took a job with School District No. 171 as a cook. She worked at both Timberline and the Weippe School cafeterias for many years. She enjoyed her interaction with the students and staff and had many wonderful stories about the students, which she shared with her own family over the years. She cared about the students as if they were her own, just as she cared for many children from the Weippe area throughout her life.
Beatrice was preceded in death by her husband, Tommy; brother John Jacobson; brothers-in-law Eddie Johnson and Jimmy Johnson; son-in-law Monte Carlson; her parents and parents-in-law; an infant granddaughter; and grandson Clay Hill.
She is survived by four daughters; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three siblings; and beloved nieces and nephews too many to list.
The service will be conducted at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 24, at the Weippe Wesleyan Church in Weippe. A graveside service will follow at the Weippe Cemetery.
Lewiston Tribune, March 18, 2012, p. 5C
Transcribed by Jill Leonard Nock