Gail Palencia Johnson

Gail Palencia Johnson December 13, 1937 - August 23, 2023 Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Gail Johnson entered into the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. She passed away peacefully with her family by her side at Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury, Minnesota due to complications from a stroke after a long struggle with dementia. She was 85 years old. Gail was born to Fred and Palencia Parish on December 13, 1937, at Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her parents divorced when she was very young. She grew up in south Minneapolis with her mom, her step-father, and her brother Clint Anderson. She attended Minnehaha Elementary School and Nokomis Jr. High. She lived most of her adult life in the south metro, specifically the Burnsville area for that last 20 years. However, the home where she grew up must have meant a lot to her because as the dementia got worse, she would say she just wanted to go home. When we would ask where she thought that was, she said south Minneapolis, and she even told us the specific addressed even though she lived there 70 years before. Gail married Rich Johnson in January 1954. They had 4 children together; Shelly, Lori, Randy & Lon. They were later divorced but remained friends until his death in 1980. Gail was not afraid of hard work. After her divorce she often worked more than one job at a time to support her family. She has worked for several companies over the years but her favorite employment was her last one with Northwest Airlines (now Delta) where she retired after 15 years of service in 2005. She liked the people she worked with, she liked the work and most of all she appreciated the travel benefits and she took full advantage of them. She loved to travel. She was always planning her next trip; it was her favorite thing to do. Gail embraced life and had many hobbies in addition to traveling; reading, quilting, and photography until Macular Degeneration made it too difficult for her to see well enough to do them. She liked to volunteer for many things. To her, it was important to help and serve; especially those that were less fortunate than her. She loved her family and was proud of them. Always interested in what they were doing. She treasured long-standing friendships with family friends, co-workers, neighbors, her "club" of junior high girlfriends, and her very dear friend Sandra Hutchison. Gail is loved and she will be missed very much but we know someday we will see her again in Heaven. Gail was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by four children; Shelly Carney, Lori Myers, Randy (Roxanne) Johnson, Lon (Becky) Johnson, 11 grandchildren; Corey Carney, Marcus (Sara) Graves, Jessica (Ryan) Striker, Angela (Nate) Miller, Ryan (Kryssia) Johnson, Alexa Carney, Holly (Nate) Lechner, Paige (Jake) Lindsey, Calvin Johnson, Helen Johnson, and Claudia Johnson, & 11 great-grandchildren; Maddox Graves, Hazel Striker, Sawyer Graves, Caleb Striker, Nicholas Carney, Hadassah Johnson, Myka Miller, Moses Miller, Moses Johnson, Malachi Miller, and Lydia Johnson; and her brother Clint (Diane) Anderson. Gail had a file that she labeled simply, "After". There were notes about her funeral and other things. This is one of the things she wrote: "To my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives, and friends, I want to thank you all for having shared in my life." Funeral service Saturday, September 2, 2023 at River Hills Methodist Church, 11100 River Hills Dr, Burnsville, MN. Service time is 11:00am with visitation one hour prior. Luncheon to follow. Internment following luncheon at Dawn Valley Cemetery, 9940 Bush Lake Rd, Bloomington. Memorial donation suggestions: Samaritan's Purse and Feed My Starving Children

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Gail Palencia Johnson

December 13, 1937 - August 23, 2023

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