Monona County IA Archives Obituaries.....Johnson, Sarah Knutson September 15, 1945 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ia/iafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Carolyn Jarvey iandaz@cox.net December 7, 2009, 3:40 pm unknown Mrs. Sarah Johnson Dies (From the collection of Vivian Norby Andersen) Mrs. Sarah Johnson, widow of the late J. C. Johnson, passed away on Saturday, September 15 at the age of 79 years. She had been seriously ill for several weeks and everything possible was done to relieve her suffering. She was treated at t a Sioux City hospital several times but only temporary relief could be given her. Mrs. Glenn Johnson had been here caring for her for some time. Sarah Johnson is so well known throughout the Soldier community that little can be said that is not already known. She was a great mother, her first interest always being her family. Anyone knowing her four fine sons and the success they have made of their lives, can be sure she and her late husband had guided them well. She was always kind and thoughtful of others too, giving help whenever it was possible to do so. In the early ears of her life after she had settled here she befriended and helped many of the young girls who came over from Norway. Some of these women live here today and they were her staunchest friends. Up until the last few years Mrs. Johnson was very active in church work but her age and inability to get around so well forced her to turn the active work to younger hands. She was one of the four living members of the congregation which dated back to 1871. Recently The Sentinel published her picture along with the other ladies. With her passing the Soldier community indeed loses one of its finest citizens. Her memory will always remain with those who had the privilege of knowing her. Funeral services were held at the Soldier Valley Lutheran Church Monday forenoon with Rev. Ernest E. Hoff officiating. Ralph Oldham was in charge of funeral arrangements and interment was in Soldier Valley cemetery. Her four sons and a host of other relatives from a distance were among those attending the funeral. An early pioneer of the Soldier community, Mrs. Sarah Johnson, widow of the late J. C. Johnson, passed away on Saturday, September 15, 1945, after an illness of several months. Death came to her at the age of 79 years, 1 month and 2 days. She was born in Valders, Norway, on August 12, 1866. With her parents, Thrond and Guri (Pedersen) Knutson, she emigrated from Norway in the spring of 1871. the journey to America was made by sail boat which sank on its return voyage. From the shores of Canada, where the sailboat landed, she traveled by boat down the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes to Chicago, arriving there shortly after the great Chicago fire. From thence she and her parents went by train to Dunlap, Iowa, where they were met by the late Arne Swenson, who drove a team of oxen. Her first home in America was a sod house, more commonly known among pioneers as a “dugout”. Since her arrival 74 years ago she lived almost continuously in the Soldier community. At one time she resided in the Old Town of Soldier and later spent many years on the Johnson farm two miles southwest of the present town of Soldier. In 1917 she moved from the farm to Soldier and remained a resident until her passing. Mrs. Johnson was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and was an active member of the Soldier Valley Lutheran Church. At the time of her death she was one of four living members of that congregation whose membership dated back to 1871. On April 20, 1891 she was united in marriage to J. C. Johnson of Argyle, Wisconsin, to which union five children were born. She was predeceased by her husband and her only daughter, Helen. She leaves to mourn her passing: four sons, Voyle and Glenn of Chicago, Charles of Denison, Iowa, and Elliott of Houston, Texas; one sister, Mary (Mrs. T. O.) Ellison of Vermillion, South Dakota; three brothers, Pete and Lewis Knutson of Soldier, and Charley Thompson of Bashaw, Alberta, Canada; five grandchildren, and a host of friends. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/monona/obits/j/johnson2197gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/iafiles/ File size: 4.5 Kb