Margaret Ann Johnson

January 31, 1945 – March 21, 2026

Margaret Ann Johnson, 81, passed away at home on March 21, 2026. She is survived by her beloved sweetheart, Gerald (“Jerry”) Art Johnson; her brother Pat (Julie); sister Sally (Pat); her son Russell (Rhonda); daughter Natalie (Roger); and son David, as well as 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, the delight of her life.

She was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings and by her son Brett. It brings great comfort to think of their reunion.

Ann was born January 31, 1945, in Fowler, California. Her exuberant laugh across the college library in Cedar City, Utah, captured the heart of Jerry. They were engaged two weeks later on Valentine’s Day and were married for 61 years. 

She earned both a B.A. in elementary education and an M.Ed. in teacher education, but her paramount achievement was being not just an amateur mother but a “professional mother,” a title she would bestow on others as a mark of merit in her mind. She inspired excellence and embodied learning and teaching in every area of her life, impacting hundreds of children and families. She was gentle, loving and incredibly encouraging but also had an extremely effective “teacher voice” and steely flash of the eyes when necessary.

Her favorite personal creed was, “No one cares how much you know unless they know how much you care,” and she lived it every day. Her traumatic childhood only deepened her conviction to turn that pain outward as love. She was absolutely invested in whatever was important to a loved one, asking thoughtful questions while gazing into your eyes, holding your hand and potentially cupping your chin, all to make sure that she could see into your heart. Whether the subject was philosophy, law, counseling, archaeology, economics, dance, education, nursing, music, robotics, entrepreneurship, sports, engineering or parenting—if a loved one was doing it, she wanted to know every detail.

She had an unmatched strength of spirit, testimony and willingness to sacrifice. Ann never went anywhere without bringing a little gift to match a theme or far too much food to possibly eat, or both, and we know that Heaven is more sparkly and filled with butterflies now that she is there. We can imagine her smile and almost hear her exuberant “Wahoo!” when she arrived. She was always effusive about any gift or effort made on her behalf, and as she would always say in those moments, we will treasure her forever.

Services will be held at the LDS church at 11288 Roosevelt Ave., Nampa, Idaho, on Saturday, March 28, 2026, with a viewing at 10 a.m. and a funeral at 11 am. A graveside service will be held at the Burlington, Wyoming, cemetery on Tuesday, March 31, at 11 a.m.