Obituary of Joanne Gayle Johnson

Joanne Gayle Johnson lost her valiant seven year battle with breast cancer on July 6th, 2015. Joanne was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1946 to Phill and Lena Illingworth in Glendale, California. She grew up in West Van Nuys near Reseda. She attended Anatola Avenue Elementary School and then Birmingham for both Junior High and High School. After high school she pursued and completed a Home Economics degree with an emphasis in fabric and clothing from San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University Northridge). This is an unusual degree, bridging science, especially chemistry, with business. With her freshly minted degree, she worked for The Broadway and then Sears as a retail manager over clothing departments until the birth of her first child. Returning to work after starting a family of one boy and two girls, she became a Teacher’s Aid to special needs children for the Conejo Valley Unified School District, wanting to be home for her children and loving children’s education. When she retired, she continued part time as a substitute teacher until shortly before her passing. She could have been a teacher at any time during her career as a teacher’s aid due to her college degree and extremely high scores on the qualifying tests, but she preferred to have the time she wanted with her family. Joanne’s interest in fabric and clothing remained with her all her life and she designed and made clothing for family members and friends. She also enjoyed crocheting and genealogy. As a child Joanne enjoyed playing the piano and became very accomplished, accomplished enough to become a piano teacher. Her love for music kept music in the home, and all three of her children enjoy singing and playing the piano. She grew up in a home that practiced and taught Christian values although church attendance was not a big part of it. At times she attended the local Baptist church. In college, she attended a Philosophy class in which the instructor started the semester by telling the class that if they believed in God, they would not by the time the class was finished. It troubled her deeply, but she held on to her values. She was one of two girls in a Chemistry class, and they became close friends. Joanne was focused on her education but dated some. She wasn’t particularly impressed with the guys she met until one special night. The other girl in the class invited her to attend an LDS Fireside. When she walked into the building she was struck by the nice clean cut young men and women in attendance. She later described it as she felt she died and went to heaven. That night she also met he future husband Jim. Because of her insatiable appetite for spiritual knowledge, she described her dates with Jim as more like missionary lessons than anything else. They were married about two years later. The story of Jim and Joanne is a true love story. They eventually adopted “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack as their song because it describes their feelings for each other so well. Joanne’s Christian ideals stayed with her all her life. She went out of her way to help people whenever she perceived a need. She preferred to do so quietly, staying in the background, out of her love for people, and not for praise. Her family and friends all remember her as that special helpful person. Joanne is survived by her husband, Jim Johnson, son, Tony Johnson, daughters, Vickie Kelly and Tina Sullivan, nine grandchildren (three boys and six girls, ages one month to sixteen years old), and a sister, Janice Jensen. Her family invites all who knew her to join us in the celebration of her life. Her Memorial Service will be on Saturday, July 18th at the LDS Stake Center at 1600 Erbes Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362. Viewing at 10:00 AM. Memorial Service at 11:00 AM. Interment will follow at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, CA.