Bertha "Birdie" M. Johnson, age 99, of Willmar, formerly of the Raymond area, died Saturday morning, March 23, at Bethesda Pleasant View Nursing Home in Willmar just three months shy of her 100th birthday.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 PM, Saturday, May 4, at the Evangelical Free Church Chapel in Willmar. Memorials are preferred to the Evangelical Free Church. The interment was in the Fairview Cemetery in Raymond. Visitation will be one hour prior to the memorial service at the church. Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar. (www.petersonbrothers.com)
Birdie Marie Johnson was born in Raymond, Minnesota, to Fred and Hilda (Enzenauer) Rehm on June 29th, 1913. Birdie graduated from Raymond High School and later went on to graduate from St. Cloud Teachers College in 1932. She taught school in Chippewa County for several years. She married Edward McLane in 1935. They farmed in Chippewa County until his death. They had one son, Noel.
In 1965, Birdie married Lennart Johnson and they farmed near Murdock until 1974, when they moved to a home which they had built on Eagle Lake. They were members of the Evangelical Free Church of Willmar. After Lennart's death in 1997, Birdie moved to Sunrise Village in Willmar.
She is survived by her son, Noel (Betty) McLane, Eagan, step sons, Randy (Evie) Johnson of Blaine, Dwight (Carolyn) Johnson of Wellington, Colorado, and David (Phyllis) Johnson of Young America and many grandchildren and great grandchildren, besides other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, both spouses and her sister, Hildegard Bruns.