Berdeena Johnson

November 30, 1919 - November 25, 2015

Berdeena Johnson Obituary (Age 95) Berdeena, who always preferred to be called ?Deen?, was the first born of five children; she was a premature baby weighing only three pounds. The year was 1919 and in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, there was not much medical advancement for premature babies so her parents kept her in a shoe box by the woodstove to keep her warm. During the depression, the family lived on various farms all over Wisconsin. Deen graduated from high school and went on to college to earn a degree in teaching. She met her future husband in college and taught elementary school in a one-room school house for a couple years. Harry was a photographer; he was drafted into the service during the war and was placed in the photography division of the Army Air Force. Just before he was scheduled to ship oversees in 1943, Deen joined him in Colorado Springs. They had little money when they decided right then, to be married. Harry hocked two cameras and an exposure meter for funds and a unknown couple stood up for them to perform the ceremony. During the time Harry was overseas, Deen traveled alone to New York to enroll into the New York Institute of Photography where she graduated with honors. When Harry returned home, the couple opened a photography studio in Hudson, Wisconsin where Deen specialized in photographing children and the hand-coloring of black and white photographs with oils. Their first child, Jill, was born during this period. Harry was offered a job at Eastman Kodak and the family moved on to St. Louis where they lived for three years until Harry was transferred to Portland, Oregon. The family loved the west coast right away and became avid outdoors people; they did a lot of camping, hiking, and fishing. The second child, Robert, came along and after a rainy weekend camp with a baby, Deen was done with tent camping! So Harry rushed right out and bought a camp trailer and the family continued to camp regularly. In those years, camp trailers were kind of rare to see in the campgrounds; other campers would poke fun at the family, that is, until the rains came and they were the ones warm and cozy playing cards and enjoying Deen's fresh baked apple pie, while waiting out the weather. Deen was an avid cook and created fabulous, healthy dishes; the family was fed exceptionally well. There was always entertaining going on in their home, having guests for dinner at least a few times a week. The Johnson family home was always filled with fun and laughter; the kids were showered with love but also taught respect. Another transfer came and the family moved to Seattle/ Bellevue area. The family greatly enjoyed having new areas for their camping adventures. Yet one last transfer sent them to San Francisco where Harry and Deen resided in Walnut Creek and came to love the bay area. When the kids were grown and gone Deen decided to go into a real estate career. She was extremely successful in realty as she was top notch in customer service by offering decorating tips, referring buyers to local veterinary services, repairmen and even baking cookies for her clients. Deen shortly made it into the million dollar sales club as a real estate agent. When Harry retired, he wanted to travel the United States by RV so Deen then retired as well. Besides RV travels, the couple also went on many cruises as Harry did photography for the cruise lines, they were able to see much of the world this way. Deen liked classical and big band music, she was an avid reader that liked to research things like the medications that she was prescribed which made her challenge her doctors to change her plan of care. She also loved historical novels and enjoyed learning history, especially history about the people of the world. She and her family were always ?doers? and didn?t spend much time watching TV or movies. Jill was first to move to Spokane, her brother later followed, and a couple years later, Harry and Deen moved to Spokane. Harry passed in 1999, and Deen kept up their large home for several years before moving on to a retirement home. Deen is survived by her daughter Jill Smith (married to Doug Smith) son Robert Johnson (married to Nancy Johnson) and by her five grandchildren, Sean Smith, Krisha Charbonneau, Brett Johnson, Jordan Johnson, Sierra Huckins and four great-grandchildren. With Deen's life long love of all children and education in mind, the family requests that any memorials be sent in her name to M?bius Children's Museum. A celebration of Deen's life will be held November 29th 3:00 to 5:00 PM in Tiffany Hall at Whitworth Church on the Whitworth University campus. A private family burial will be held Monday November 30th, her 96th birthday, at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.