---

Ethel Mae (Schallenberger) Johnson passed away peacefully January 26, 2008. Ethel was 90 years old, born May 18, 1917.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Lewis; parents, Fredrick and Ida Mae; brother, Clarence and two sisters, Mary and Florence.

She is survived by her two sons and their families: son, Lorens Johnson and wife, Susan of Center City, and their family: grandson Erik, wife Angie and great-granddaughter Jessica of Grand Forks, ND; grandson Matt, wife Sheri and great-granddaughter Ashley, of Lindstrom, and grandson Brent and his fiance, Lydia Bryant of Robbinsdale, Minn.; son, Lewis Johnson and wife, Chris, of Galena, AK and their family: granddaughter Beverly Bandy, husband Scott and great-grandson Tristan of Rodenbach, Germany; granddaughter Sandy Lowe, husband Noel and great-grandchildren: Christian, Courtney, and Summer of Wasilla, AK; granddaughter Jackie and grandson Thomas both of Galena, AK. Also mourning her loss are numerous nieces, nephews, and their families.

Ethel was raised on her parents' farm near Frederic, Wis. After high school she attended WSU River Falls.

In 1941 she married Lewis E. Johnson of Center City. They moved to the Los Angeles area where she worked in the defense industry during the war. Her son Lorens was born there in 1943.

After the war they moved back to Center City where they started Ethel's first restaurant called Dutch's Cafe. "Dutch" was her sister-in-law's nickname for Ethel and there may still be some old-timers who still remember her as "Dutch." Before her second son, Lewis was born in 1950, they sold the cafe and for several years she busied herself with remodeling the home that had been Lewis' great-aunt's home on Summit Avenue in Center City.

In 1956 she again started a restaurant. This time it was the Bay View Inn that they built on Highway 8 at Grand Avenue. Her husband had a Phillips 66 Station (now Jeff's Repair) and she had her restaurant with living quarters behind (now a dentist's office).

After a short "retirement," in 1961 they purchased a sporting goods business in Pacific, MO from the widow of one of Lewis' hunting friends.

In 1970 Lewis died suddenly of a heart attack. Ethel sold the sporting goods business and went back to college to study art. After a couple of years at school she purchased a mini motor home and with her dog, Geraldine, she traveled from coast to coast visiting family and friends and seeing the sights. She opened an art supply store in Pacific and taught painting in the back. She lived on her country property near Pacific with ponds, poultry and big gardens until 1987 when at age 70 she decided she should move closer to family. She bought her current home in Center City near her older son. On her four acres she raised chickens, flowers, vegetables and lots of grass. She mowed it all with her walk-behind mowers.

For nearly all the last 20 years Ethel worked as a volunteer at Family Pathways Wyoming Thrift Store. Every Wednesday she looked forward to spending the early part of the day organizing the inventory and seeing her group of friends who volunteered and had their lunch together once a week. She has taken great pleasure in the recognition she received in conjunction with her retirement as a volunteer last year (2007).

Her artistic endeavors during these years included an active involvement in the St. Croix Valley Art Guild. Much of her own work involved china painting that she painted and fired in her kiln. Over the last several months she has enjoyed the opportunity to share many of her art works with friends and family.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Grandstrand Funeral Home, Lindstrom, Thursday, January 31, at 7 p.m. Family and friends may gather from 6-7 p.m. prior to the memorial service for time of visitation. Memorials to St. Francis of Assisi Animal Rescue, P.O. Box 256, Forest Lake, MN 55025.

---