Dorothy Johnson

Funeral Service for Dorothy Courbat Johnson, age 97, of Wheaton, Minnesota will be held Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Minnesota with Rev. Thomas Olson officiating. Pallbearers will be Dorothy's grandchildren & great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held Thursday morning at the church, from 9:30 a.m. until service time. Interment will be held in Wildwood Cemetery, Wheaton. Dorothy Johnson was born on October 28, 1916 on the family farm in rural Norcross, Minnesota the oldest of three girls and one boy. Her parents moved from Nebraska to Minnesota where land was less expensive. Dorothy lived in the country most of her life and has known hard work during that time, starting out as a young girl milking cows at 7 years old. She helped with the chores on the farm and due to her mother's poor health for a few years, she also took care of the home. Despite the hard work, she has enjoyed country life, stating "The best thing about living in the country is the good neighbors." Dorothy attended school in Norcross and Herman, graduating from Herman school in 1935. After graduating, she began working for families, taking care of others who were ill and keeping house for them. While doing this type of work, she met Floyd Courbat in 1937. Dorothy and Floyd were married November 10, 1938, on her parents farm in Norcross. "Floyd had a good hired hand, so we were able to go on a three month honeymoon," (a trip that took them from Minnesota to California, with lots of sights along the way). Dorothy had never been to the mountains or oceans, so seeing Glacier Park, the Pacific Ocean and the San Diego Zoo were all new to her. Dorothy has also known tragedy in her life. She and Floyd had five children together, losing one daughter Judith at birth and a son Rodney to a tractor accident at age 14. Dorothy says this was the worst time of her life, "I can still see him driving down the road, you never get over something like that". The Courbats worked hard as farmers, but during their marriage they were able to travel often. Their favorite place to go was Florida, Floyd purchased several properties before settling on one in particular that is still in the family. They enjoyed winters in Florida and summers in Minnesota. Dorothy is very proud of her three children. One of her favorite jobs was working the vegetable gardens with her son, who is a farmer. In 1982, Dorothy married Walter Johnson in Wheaton. They were married for less than one year before Walter died. In 1992, Dorothy began a yearly ritual of flying to Florida to spend the winter. She would Fly via Arizona to spend a month with Janeice and family in the fall and again in the spring. Spring to fall she was in Minnesota. In 2003, Dorothy injured her leg in Florida and moved into Pioneer Care Center in Fergus Falls where she resided until her death on March 2, 2014. Dorothy's legacy will be her positive attitude on life. She never missed out on anything. She loved participating in all activities and enjoyed her special family at Pioneer. She enjoyed eleven years with Pioneer Care Center. Dorothy had a few sayings she will be remembered for "I'm in the right place at the right time" , "In the right place, right time, to miss nothing", and "It was meant to be". Dorothy lived life always looking at the positive. Dorothy loved meeting and talking to strangers but they were not strangers for very long. She enjoyed selling vegetables for her son from her home in Wheaton. Dorothy loved life! Dorothy is survived by three children: Karen (Leland) Sperr of Wheaton; Calvin (Mary) Courbat of Nashua, Minnesota/Tampa, Florida; and Janeice (Ken) Raiche of Fredericksburg, Virginia; eight grandchildren: Leone Nilson of St. Cloud, Minnesota; Mark (Tammy) Sperr of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Lois Sperr of Wheaton; Larry (Cheryl) Sperr of Hanover, Minnesota; Melissa Sperr of St. Cloud, Minnesota; Erin (Andy) Bender of Manassas, Virginia; Jennifer (Landy) Dove of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Anthony Raiche of Alexandria, Virginia; twelve great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Marion Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota; brother-in-law Merwin Adams of Fergus Falls, Minnesota; and special friends Gary Fredrickson and Devota Mecklenburg both of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Dorothy was preceded in death by her husbands Floyd and Walter, parents Emmanuel and Hulda Johnson, daughter Judith, son Rodney, grandson David John Sperr, brother Edward, and sisters Ruth Dirks and Marion Adams.

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Visitation

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

• Thursday, March 06, 2014
• 09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
• Email Details
• 605 10th Street North
  Wheaton, MN 56296

Directions

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Funeral Service

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

• Thursday, March 06, 2014
• 11:00 AM
• Email Details
• 605 10th Street North
  Wheaton, MN 56296

Directions