MERLE C. JOHNSON

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MERLE C. JOHNSON Peacefully on March 6, 2007, Merle passed away at the age of 85 at the Victoria General Hospital. He was surrounded by family as he left us to be with God. His very last words to his wife were I love you very much and take care of yourself . Merle is survived by the love of his life and soul mate of 60 years, Anne, his daughter Madeline (David), son Chris (Betty-Jean), grandchildren, Chris, Leanne (Michael), Rachael (Dean), Tim, Sandra, Kayla and great-grandchildren, Andrew, Sabrina and Brendan. As well he is survived by his sister Irene, brother Lionel (Gloria), sisters-in-law, Lilian, Janet (Leonard), Helen (Don), Mary, brother-in-law Nic (Vicky) and many cousins, nieces and nephews. Merle was predeceased by his parents, Chris and Gertrude Johnson and brothers, Jack and Richard and sisters, Pat, Pansy and Sophie. Merle was born in Glenora and his first years were spent on a farm near Baldur, Manitoba and then as a young boy he moved to and grew up in St. James. Merle joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1942 and served overseas mostly in Italy and Holland during the Second World War. After returning home from the war in February of 1946 he soon afterwards met Anne, they were engaged in July and married on November 9, 1946. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this past November. Merle began his working career in 1946 with the Unemployment Insurance Commission and retired from that job in 1980. During those and the following years Merle was also dedicated to working with the church and served as an elder at the Windsor Park and Central church of Christ. Merle loved country and western music and loved to play the guitar and mouth organ and sing along. He often lead the singing at church. He was a Toast Master and enjoyed writing his own sermons and then preaching them. Many couples were privileged to have Merle officiate their wedding ceremony. He liked the art of writing and his penmanship was remarkable. He also enjoyed reading and creating poetry and would often write the verse for a card that Anne had painted. He spent many hours framing and hanging Anne's art work for her shows. He took up baking and gave out his handiwork to all sorts of takers even his bank teller. He had painstakingly created family histories. Merle loved sports, especially ones that involved other people like golfing, curling and playing crib. Merle was also famous for his jokes, puns and one-liners because most of all he liked to see people smile, and he kept himself and everyone around him, especially the little ones, well supplied with candies. Above all Merle loved God, the Bible, his wife and family and people. Merle enjoyed life to its fullest and loved to be with people. He was a most loving, generous, caring and positive person and will be sorely missed by his family and all of his many friends. Merle would like to thank all the people that shared their lives with him while he was here and especially those who helped him get around in the past couple of years, unfortunately we cannot mention them all but at the very least would like to thank Leonard and Janet, Mike and Leanne, Myrna, the staff and all their newly made friends at Lindenwood Manor. Till we meet again. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Central Church of Christ, 217 Osborne Street South (at confusion corner ). In lieu of flowers donations in Merle's memory may be made to the Central Church of Christ Building Fund (217 Osborne Street S. R2M 2N9) or to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. THOMSON FUNERAL HOME 669 Broadway ~ 783-7211 www.thomsonfuneralhome.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 10, 2007