Patricia Johnson

Patricia Johnson
May 25, 1933 November 16, 2015

Patricia Ruth Johnson, age 82, passed away peacefully on November 16, 2015 at Agrace Hospice in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. She was born in Indianapolis on May 25, 1933, the only child of Roy and Harriet (Mulvaney) Eller. She attended DePauw University, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, and graduated in 1955 with a degree in psychology. She worked in personnel for General Electric after college, then married her college sweetheart, Donald Johnson, and moved to Edina, Minnesota, where she raised their three daughters. She returned to work as a secretary for General Electric's mobile radio division. As that business transitioned to cellular communications, she moved into sales and then contracts. During that time, she also checked one big item off her bucket list--she took flying lessons and soloed on March 11, 1978. Pat and her partner, Ken Christy, retired to Tucson, Arizona in 1999, where she became a docent at Tohono Chul Park, a process which required a year of studying plants, animals, weather, geography, native peoples, and more. She enjoyed volunteering throughout her life, including being a Girl Scout cookie district coordinator, an election judge in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, a reading tutor, and working at the Verona Public Library. Pat was an avid reader and animal lover. She loved the arts, especially dance.

Pat is survived by her daughters, Sheri Hird (Gary), Julie Streeter (Dan), and Karin Henning (Jon), and her grandchildren, Elizabeth Hird (Jared Saatela), David Hird (Amanda), and Sarah Kempkes. She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Harriet Eller, and her longtime partner, Ken Christy.
Even though she was a private person, Pat would want you to know she was always proud of her daughters and grandchildren, that you can know a person's character by the way they treat animals, and that you should spend more time at your local library.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Roscoe Animal Retreat (P.O. Box 432, Roscoe, IL 61073), the Verona Public Library (500 Silent Street, Verona, WI 53593), or Tohono Chul Park (7366 N. Paseo del Norte, Tuscon, AZ 85704). Please share your memories of Patricia.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
~Kahlil Gibran




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