Anchorage Daily News
July 30, 2003Anchorage resident Rita M. Johnson, 85, died July 26, 2003, at home. A funeral Mass was read at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 2111 Muldoon Road, with a reception afterwa
Mrs. Johnson was born Aug. 26, 1917, in Reno, Nev., to Henry and Mary Schempp. A Navy wife, she packed up her family every three years during her husband's 20-year career. Their most exotic duty station was in the Dominican Republic. She and her husband moved to Nome in 1967, when Mr. Johnson was transferred there by the Federal Aviation Administration. After his retirement, they remained in Nome as partners in several business ventures. While living there, she enjoyed gathering wildflowers and creating pressed flower pictures. In 1979, they moved to Reno. After her husband died, she moved back to Anchorage in 1997 to be with her daughter. Her family wrote that Mom lived for her children. She died peacefully, listening to Engelbert Humperdinck. Her daughter Cheryl was by her side.
Mrs. Johnson is survived by her children, Cheryl Henneken, Martha Purvis and Roy Johnson; grandchildren, Lisa Lent and Mark Purvis; and nieces, Arlene Quilki and Dorothy Shone.