A funeral mass for 92-year old Berthajean Johnson will be held Friday, July 5, 2024 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Rushville, NE
She will be laid to rest in the Fairview Cemetery in Rushville.
Everyone is invited to the church following the services for an ice cream social to share memories and celebrate the ‘one and only Berthajean’s life.”
Berthajean Mary (Baldauf) Johnson was born Sept 8, 1930, at home in Hay Springs, NE, to Joseph Baldauf and Mabel Opal (Fisher) Baldauf. She passed away August 26, 2023, in Omaha, NE, at the age of 92 years, 11 months and 18 days.
Berthajean’s name on her birth certificate was Mabel Joann, but her name was quickly changed when her grandmother, Bertha Augusta Garska Fisher Felhahn, insisted her name be Bertha since she shared her grandmother’s birthdate.
Berthajean had several nicknames; her family called her Babe and she usually went by BJ to friends and co-workers. She refused to be called Bertha and insisted on her full name Berthajean because she was the “one and only Berthajean”.
Berthajean attended grade school in Clinton, NE, and graduated high school in Rushville, NE in 1948. She earned her Normal Teaching certification in high school and taught in rural schools in Sheridan County and in Montana in Gallatin County.
Berthajean Baldauf and Theodore Parker Johnson were united in marriage February 28, 1948, in Rushville. They quickly moved to Montana where they resided till 1964.
Berthajean and Ted’s family of 6 children returned home to Nebraska and lived in Chadron, North Platte, Hay Springs, Lincoln, Council Bluffs, Iowa and ended their journeys in Omaha.
Berthajean graduated from Chadron State College in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree with a specialization in Library Science, aka school librarian.
Berthajean spent the majority of her life teaching in a variety of schools. One of her favorites was Anceny rural school in Montana, where 4 of the 10 students were her own children. She loved teaching.
She enjoyed her gardens and could often be found beautifying her flower beds. Berthajean loved music; she could play the piano well and wanted to learn to play stringed instruments.
She often sang to and with her children. She especially loved the songs of the 1940’s and 1950’s. One of her favorite songs was, “She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain.” Hi Babe!
Her favorite activity was spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved birthdays, celebrations and parades and attended them all with and for her family. Grandma BJ had many adventures with her grandchildren.
Berthajean was a special mom, grandma, great-grandma and great-great-grandma. She loved to play and could be found winding up all the music boxes in the store.
She also liked to read and write poetry. Much to her children’s delight, she wrote and told several children’s stories. Their favorites were the Goody stories and the Topsy stories.
She had a sweet tooth, she especially loved Ice cream, cookies, mini marshmallows, chocolate and strawberries (with sugar).
Berthajean was preceded in death by her parents Joe and Mabel Baldauf; husband Theodore Parker Johnson; brothers Boyd and Dan Baldauf; sisters Lavon Schwarting and Marjorie Williams; daughter Martha Jean; and son Theodore August Johnson
Survivors cherishing her memory include her children Erik Johnson (Cathy) Lincoln, NE; Kathryn Johnson Nokes (Paul) Manhattan, MT; Annmarie Johnson Schultz (Ken) and Mary Jo Johnson Mollner (Bob). both Omaha, NE; and Gary Johnson (Vickie) Pullman, WA.
Survivors also include grandchildren William, Wendy, Kerri, Josh, Katie, Randy, Scott, Kristin, Abra, Elanni, Jerry, Jason and Cassandra; great-grandchildren Madison, Aydan,Jamie, Jordan, Jeremy, Jordan, Tyler, Parker, Roberta, Anastasia, Kortney, Autumn, Corbin, Sutherland, Weston, Zealand, Preston, Kaiden, Liam, Kenzie, Jackson, Chance and Justice.
Berthajean also leaves behind great-great-grandchildren Amelia, Adelaide, and Guinevere; sisters Josemay “Jo” Anderson (Don) and Mabelmarie “Marie” Datus (Gary); plus many nieces and nephews.
Berthajean had several sayings you could always hear her saying to her children and grandchildren. She reminded us all, very often, “you have a choice to be kind,”“that’s not my favorite,” and instead of saying “yuck,” she would say “that’s enough.”