Mrs. Barbara J. Johnstone

Barbara Jane Furrer Johnstone, died in Columbia, SC on Sunday, April 24, 2016. She was born on April 26, 1945 in Springfield, IL to John Lee Furrer and Mary Jane Nemeth Furrer. She graduated from Nevada Community High School in Nevada, IA in 1964. Barb graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts in education and was very active in the Delta Zeta sorority. Barb taught second grade in Racine, WI for several years. She moved to Indianapolis, IN where she taught primary special education until 1993. She graduated from Butler University with a Master of Science in Education in 1975. A passionate advocate of special education students and their needs, Barb was honored one year as an Outstanding Primary Special Education Teacher in the Indianapolis Public Schools. Barb was an active member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, a professional organization for key women educators. Barb was an ardent gardener and an avid reader throughout her life as well as a beloved sister, spouse, and friend. As a child, Barb enjoyed an idyllic childhood, summering on Washington Island, WI at the family’s summer home, The Breakers. Barb married Robert C. Johnstone II in 1989 in Richmond, VA and they moved to South Carolina in 1995. A dedicated wife and aunt, Barb played an influential role in her family's lives, which we have no doubt will continue. She loved her spouse and other family deeply and fondly. A woman of great character, Barb had a close circle of friends, whom she loved and respected. She had deep affection for her sister, but above all, she was interested in every person she met and generously helped untold numbers along their way in life. Though she struggled with ill health in the latter years of her life, she entered her ending years with an indefatigable spirit. The family would like to thank the staff of the Rice Estate (Bernardin House), Columbia, SC, for the devoted care she received. Survivors include her husband of 26 years, Robert C. Johnstone II , Columbia, SC ; daughter of her husband, Anne Luckett Johnstone Diaz (Marco) , Eugene, OR and their children, Sagamore James Blakely, Portland, OR, and Xochilt Sarah Diaz, Eugene, OR; son of her husband, Robert C. Johnstone III, Fortville, IN and his children, Sidney Louise Johnstone, and Delaney Ann Johnstone, Fortville, IN ; two nieces, Dr. Sarah Johnstone Aryee (Dr. Martin Aryee) Cambridge, MA, and Emily Dreschler Johnstone, Bloomington, IN, and a nephew, Joseph Alan Johnstone, Little Rock, AR. She will be dearly missed. She was preceded in death by her father, John Lee Furrer, mother, Mary Jane (Nemeth) Furrer, and sister Carol Ann (Furrer) Johnstone. Graveside services will be conducted by clergy from an Episcopal Church at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, IN on Thursday, April 28 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Delta Zeta Foundation, 202 East Church Street, Oxford, OH 45056. Arrangements have been entrusted to Crown Hill Funeral Home.