MAVIS JOHNSTON

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MAVIS JOHNSTON May 30, 1925 - June 28, 2007 Mavis Johnston passed away June 28, 2007 at the Sioux Lookout Hospital, 7th Ave. Site surrounded with family and friends. Born in Cobalt, Ontario, she was a daughter of the late Angela and Louis Furlane. She grew up in Sioux Lookout where her mother Angela Furlane operated a store Furlane's Confectionery . An avid teenage athlete, she played baseball for the Sioux Lookout Bombers as a pitcher and outfielder bearing the nickname Spike . Mavis entered the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in Port Arthur, Ontario and graduated in 1947. She took a job in Geraldton, Ontario where she met her future husband Les Johnston who worked in the Longlac Mines. She moved with Les and daughter Joanne to Sioux Lookout where her son Leslie was born and where Les worked as a brakeman for the C.N.R. In 1954 they moved with his job to Winnipeg where, shortly afterward, Les was stricken with polio and hospitalized. With Joanne and Leslie safely settled in Sioux Lookout with her mother and sisters, Mavis remained with Les in Winnipeg throughout his convalescence, working with polio patients in the King George Hospital and later with the orthopedic surgeon Dr. Duncan Croll. Mavis and Les returned to Sioux Lookout, where Mavis began work as a school nurse and Les became the administrator of the Sioux Lookout General Hospital. She continued work with the Northwestern District Health Unit and years later in the SAAN store. Mavis was an avid gardener, bird-watcher, baker and card player. She enjoyed the company of many friends young and old and valued in particular the friendship of the card sharks and the camaraderie of the retired nurses' group. She was a member of Sacred Heart Church and the Catholic Women's League and an avid supporter of the Relay for Life. Mavis was predeceased by her parents Angela and Louis Furlane, her husband Les, her brother Raymond Furlane, his wife Alex and son Jamie, and her sisters Rita and Gertie Furlane. She is survived by her daughter Joanne Johnston (and Brian McGraw) of Rye Brook, NY; son Leslie Johnston (and Gladys Houtz) of Sioux Lookout; her eldest sister Sterina Steward of Colbourne, Ontario; and her sisters-in-law Iris Lester and Audrey Johnston of Geraldton, Margaret of Kenora, and Phyllis Rands of Vancouver, BC; and niece and nephew Fern Manser and Bruce Furlane. Funeral Mass was celebrated at the Sacred Heart Church on July 5 at 10:00 a.m. with Father Mike Mahoney officiating. Interment of ashes will occur at a later date. If friends so desire, donations may be made in her memory to the Canadian Cancer Society or to Northern Cancer Research Foundation (Tamarack House) through the Sioux Lookout Funeral Home, Box 1449, Sioux Lookout, Ontario, P8T 1B9.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 07, 2007