Yvonne Maxine Johnson

Yvonne Maxine Johnson was born on September 9, 1928 and passed away on March 15, 2026. She was 97 years old. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd, parents, Victor and Yvonne Walsberg, brothers, Russ, Duane, Ralph, and Victor, and sisters, Gertie, Colleen, and Carol. She is survived by her sons, Dave, Rick, and Russ, daughters in law, Jackie, Suzanne, and Sue, granddaughter, Kirsten and sisters, Judy, Jeanette, Virginia, JoAnn, and Mary and brother, Dennis. Yvonne was one of 14 children of the Walsberg family. She was born outside of Grand Forks, ND, moved with the family to a farm outside of St. Hilaire, MN and then moved to a farm outside of Thief River Falls, MN. In 1946, after graduating from high school with honors, Yvonne bought a suitcase with her graduation money, got on a bus and moved to Dekalb, IL to pursue a new life. In Dekalb she lived with her Uncle Oscar and Aunt Rouha, but eventually found a room with a local family to be more independent. She found a job at the Wurlitzer Piano factory in the purchasing department, but left it to assemble coats at the Sycamore Coat Company to earn more money. Leaving home at a young age and working in unfamiliar places with no immediate friends, Yvonne said "I grew up in a hurry." While living in Dekalb, IL, Yvonne met a young City Engineer named Lloyd Johnson. They were married on July 7th, 1951. For a wedding present, Lloyd offered Yvonne either an engagement ring or a trip to California. She took the later and "never regretted it." Yvonne and Lloyd moved to Moline, IL in 1954, and for the next 47 years she led a fulfilling life there, never one to be sitting on her hands. In addition to raising three sons, she worked as a seamstress doing alterations and making bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for a local bridal shop. She also worked at a flower shop, creating flower arrangements, and at The Opportunity Center, an organization that served people with developmental disabilities. In addition, she learned American Sign Language and used that skill to converse with her sister, Colleen (deaf from an early age), and interpret at the Opportunity Center and at a machinist class at the Rock Island Arsenal. After spending 47 years in Moline, Yvonne and Lloyd quickly decided to move to the Twin Cities area, where their sons lived, once their granddaughter, Kirsten, was born. So, In May 2001, they sold their house, packed their belongings and moved to Victoria, MN where they were close to their new granddaughter and sons. Yvonne was key to Kirsten's upbringing. She picked her up every day from school and provided her a comforting home-away-from-home until her parents came and picked her up after work. She happily did this for many years. Yvonne loved gardening and the gardens around her home in Moline showed off that love. She carried that love of gardening to Minnesota where she grew vegetables in several community gardens near her home. When the growing season was over, Yvonne had a ready arsenal of canning jars to preserve some of the harvest through the winter months. Yvonne was an accomplished artist and started oil painting after hearing an announcement on the radio of a local art class. That class lead to a long career painting miniature pictures (for display in doll houses), portraits, and landscapes. Never one to boast about her work, she entered one of her paintings in an art show at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL and won a blue ribbon! Yvonne was fortunate to have traveled extensively with her husband, having visited Hawaii, Spain, England, Bermuda, Norway, Finland and Sweden. They also took long winter vacations to Florida and California to enjoy the warm weather. However, Yvonne's most memorable experience was a mission trip with fellow church members to Venezuela to help build a church in a local community. Yvonne was deeply involved in her churches. She sorted devotional material, bibles and periodicals for International Christian Literature Distributors, sang in the church choir, played in the hand bell choir, and counted offering money on Monday mornings. Yvonne had the upmost faith in God and in his salvation. "Now as I look back over the years, I can see that I have been truly blessed. I had good friends... I have been blessed with a very loving husband and children .... I never lacked for anything." "And best of all God drew me close and showed me my need for a savior in 1976. And now I don't know when He will call me home, but I do know that when He does, I know where I'm going and it will be with Jesus." A Celebration of Yvonne's Life will be held on May 11, 2026 at the Chapel in Grace Church (9301 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN.) The Chapel entrance is at Door 2. There will be a visitation at 1pm and a memorial service at 2pm, followed by a reception thereafter. Yvonne will be interred at Ft. Snelling Cemetery next to her husband, Lloyd, in a private service earlier in the day. Yvonne's family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff at Riley Crossing and to the hospice staff at Brighton Health. The care and compassion they delivered exceeded all expectations and provided solace to all.

Yvonne Maxine Johnson

September 9, 1928 - March 15, 2026

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