Eunice Rosalie Mason Johnson

On the evening of Saturday August 23, 2014 Eunice passed away peacefully as the result of a stroke. Eunice’s last days were spent surrounded by family and friends, she was 99 years old.

Eunice was born on Thursday May 20, 1915 in Goldenrod, SD the 5th daughter and 8th of 9 children to Rev. William Luther and Alice Rosa Mason. She was a woman who cherished family history and those nearest to her were blessed to have many stories passed on to them. Her earliest memories were in Pony Montana, a dwindling mining town at the foot of the Tobacco Root Mountains. One of the memories she would share was about an old horse she and her siblings shared named Old Pet. When Eunice was 8 or 9 she went riding with a neighbor girl. Old Pet was always ridden bareback, and Eunice needed a step stool to mount him. The neighbor girl decided to teach Eunice to jump a little stream, but Old Pet wasn’t going to have anything to do with that so he stopped abruptly at the edge of the stream and in went Eunice! She was soaked and couldn’t get back on Old Pet, so she had to walk him all the way home. That, she said was the last time she was allowed to take him riding without an older sibling to supervise. At this point she would burst out laughing and add, probably not a bad idea.

In 1926 when Eunice was 11 years old her family moved west to Snohomish, Washington. It was here that Eunice spent the remainder of her childhood and made many happy memories. Eunice met her lifelong friend Billie (Lamb) Morley here and with her Eunice became adventurous, which is a quality she carried with her for the rest of her days. While Eunice and Billie never got into any real trouble, as young ladies they were always up to something and she would often tell stories of their adventures together chasing wild horses and getting stuck in the Snohomish River in a boat with no oars.

As the great depression fell onto our country Eunice would often say how blessed they were that their family never suffered. They always had enough to get by and anything extra was given to members of the church that were in need. As a young adult Eunice worked at the (now historic) Snohomish Theatre and formed many memories. At the age of 16 she met Duane when he was visiting his cousin from Chicago. Over the following years he always sent a hello to her when he wrote to his cousin. Duane returned when Eunice was 19 and told her he had never forgotten her; that was the beginning of a lifelong romance.

Eunice and Duane were married October 16th 1936. The early years of their marriage were spent in various locations in Snohomish and King Counties until they moved to Coulee City where Duane worked on the building of Coulee Dam. In 1943 their first child Dennis was born. Eunice and Dennis lived wither her sister, Lucy while Duane served overseas with the United States Army Air Corps during WWII. These were difficult years but Eunice had the support of many family and friends. In 1950 Eunice and Duane were blessed with a daughter, Eileen. Eunice was a homemaker with a love for baking. Together Eunice and Duane enjoyed an adventurous life traveling and participating in many joint hobbies.

Eunice continued to travel the world in later years.

Eunice was preceded in death by her husband Duane, her parents William and Alice Mason, her sisters Lucy, Ruth, Margaret, Jessie and Roberta; her brothers George, David and Richard, many nieces and nephews as well as her lifelong friend Billie.

Eunice is survived by her son Dennis Johnson (Linda) and her daughter Eileen Johnson-Hauglie, Grandchildren Michelle (Jerry), Scott (Terasa), Erin, Theresa (Will), Fred (Christine), Christine (Caleb) as well as great grandchildren Patrick, Kelsey, Laura, Taylor, Joshua, Mason, Sean, Riley and Caden. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews who lovingly called her Aunt Unee. Eunice will be inurned at Woodlawn Cemetery in Snohomish, Washington.

Memorials can be made in both Eunice and Duane’s names to Trinity Lutheran Church in Everett, WA, The Parkinson’s Foundation, The Salvation Army and The Native American Heritage Association in Rapid City, SD.

Special thanks to the PCU staff at Swedish Edmonds Hospital and the nursing staff at Crista Skilled Nursing Facility in Shoreline for their compassion and care provided to Eunice and her family during her final days with us.

A memorial service will be held September 20, 2014 1:00PM at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2324 Lombard Ave., Everett.