Anne Louise Johnson

Anne is survived by her children David, Barbara (Steve Gaynor), Peter (Amy), Glen (Maria), and foster-daughter Pam (Ed Carlson); grandchildren: Thomas, Curtis, Kaitlyn, Kayla, Courtney, Catherine, Elisabeth, Adam, Laura, Eddie, Grant, Lucas, and Anna; thirteen great-grandchildren; three nieces: Julene her goddaughter, Nadene and Lorene; and a beloved sister-in-law, Christine Johnson.

Born on June 1, 1931, Anne Louise grew up as the only child to Clifton and Gudrun Peterson on Saint Paul’s Lower East Side, yet surrounded by her Norwegian grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins and the thriving life of Railroad Island. Their house was filled with the sounds of the mandolin, guitar, music of all sorts, and Anne’s own piano. At Johnson High School she made a host of lifelong friends, including her husband Curtis whom she married in October, 1953. Two years later the young couple bought a house in White Bear Lake where their children David (1955), Barbara (1957), and Peter (1962) were born. With the birth of Glen in 1965, they returned to the East Side and a more spacious house.

Life on Hawthorne Avenue was marked by new friends in the Michaels, Criegos, music, sports, neighborhood theater productions, proximity to Lake Phalen, Curt’s parents only two blocks away, and Curt’s youngest brother Grant and his wife Christine right next door. On Memorial Day weekend, 1971, Anne and Curt welcomed into their home their daughter’s friend Pam; Anne’s family was now complete. In the years that followed, Anne continued to play piano, sing at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, write, garden, knit, sew, bake, and perfect the art of hospitality. Having left work to raise her family, Anne returned to 3M in 1978, where Curt continued to advance as a Systems Analyst, until his sudden death on Easter Sunday, 1987. Ready to give up her big house Anne soon relocated to the Seasons Development in Woodbury. Ten years ago she moved into the Stonecrest Senior Living of Woodbury, where she would be joined by dear friends from the East Side including Grant and Christine. In Woodbury, Anne continued to read, write, travel, and meet up to play bridge or cards with friend groups that had thrived for over fifty years.

Despite her happy family life and stable circle of friends, Anne remained a restless, curious soul: she wrote a memoir, two novels, and never gave up her fascination with law. Through her rigorous journaling, Anne maintained a rich interior life that drew her into a deeper relationship with God and a broader love for all life. In 1992, Anne was received into the Catholic Church – a bold move which may have been first stirred during her childhood as “a shy Norwegian girl living among all those beautiful, crazy Italian Catholics,” as she once said. As the matriarch of the Johnson family and an inexhaustible font of selfless love Anne will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Anne’s funeral will be lived streamed here: https://www.guardian-angels.org/funeral/

Memorials preferred to Ecumen Lakeview Commons or Guardian Angels Catholic Church

A visitation for Anne will be held Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Guardian Angels Catholic Church, 8260 4th Street North, Oakdale, Minnesota 55128, with a funeral service to follow at 11:00am.

A graveside service will occur Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 2:15 PM at Union Cemetery, 2205 Minnehaha Ave. E., Maplewood, MN.