Grace Minnie Johnston was born in Bemidji, Minnesota on July 3, 1916 to the parents of George and Mary Johnston. The family log cabin home was at Norden, Minnesota. When Grace was three years old they moved to the Shotley Community on red Lake. Grace attended school at The Shotley Brook School. In 1931 when Grace was fourteen years old she went to Minneapolis for further education. After graduating from high school she attended the University of Minnesota for a short time. On August 31, 1938 she was united in marriage to Gerhart Cornelius Clemenson. In February of 1941 a baby girl was born and died at birth, Kathleen Rae Clemenson was buried in the Gonvick, Minnesota Cemetery. In the spring of 1941, Grace and Gerhart moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Gerhart worked for LaPlante Choate. The lived here for several years. Gary, Vern and JoAnn were born while they lived here. In 1949, Gerhart moved his family to Marion, where Gerhart became a member of the Marion Police Force. It was here that John was born on February 14, 1951. Several years later, Mavis Jacobson joined our family to make us now a family of seven. These were busy years for Grace. She was a busy housewife, sewing, baking, cooking, gardening and canning. The years flew by. In the spring of 1967, Gerhart suffered a heart attack and was never able to work again. He received an award of achievement for outstanding service to his community. It was then that Grace and Gerhart began plans to move to the state of Washington. On February 12, 1974 they arrived in Spokane to a little house on 12th Street. On March 5, 1974, Gerhart died of a massive heart attack. Grace stayed on in Spokane. She worked six years as a cook in a nursing home and several years as a nanny in two separate homes. She also found time to take up several church projects, becoming the leader of children’s departments, investment leader, Sabbath School Superintendant and Chairman of the Fundraising Committee, helping to build a new church in Otis Orchards. Grace spent several years writing her life story for her grandchildren, titled “Grandmother’s Stories”. Grace passed away on March 19, 2014 in Sprague, Washington. She was preceded in death recently by her daughter, JoAnn Clemenson. Grace is survived by three sons and their spouses, Gary and Sharon (Wood) of Spokane, WA, John and Joy (Wallman) of Littleton, CO, and Vern and Judy (Lilienthal) of Gold Canyon, AZ; a special niece and her spouse, Mavis Dickerson and Ed of Garrison, Iowa; nine grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18