JOHNSON, Laura

Laura Johnson
1925 – 2026
It is with great sadness, yet in celebration of a long life well lived, that the family of Laura Johnson recognize her passing in Taber at the age of 100 years and 8 months, holding Derek’s hand, her beloved husband of seventy three years.
Laura loved her family. Besides her husband Derek, her sister Fran and her sister-in-law Evelyn, she is survived by her five children Craig (Susan), Kit (Bill), Shelley (Bob), Tammy (Dwayne) and Lionel (Laura). She is also survived by eight grandchildren Derek, Adrian (Jesse), Andrew (Emily), Shea (Helena), Meghan, Kieran, Nigel, William (Lauren) and by one great grandchild, Lily.  She is remembered fondly by numerous nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents Edwin and Katie Matthews, her parents-in-law Sidney and Clara Johnson, her sisters Kathleen and Helen, her brother Gough, brothers-in-law Ron, Tom, Leonard “Nip”, Clifford “Bud” and sister-in-law Loretta.
Laura was born in Nemiscam, Alberta on November 1, 1925 and grew up on the golden Alberta prairie, the daughter of a WWI veteran/farmer and accountant/milliner. Her father Edwin came to Alberta prior to the creation of the province and broke the land which was their homestead. Laura and her siblings had an idyllic childhood exploring the prairie, walking for miles chasing dreams and sunlight. They often reminisced about leaning over cribbing on abandoned water wells and yelling with joy into their fifty foot depths.
Laura became a skilled horsewoman at an early age, riding bareback and often bringing home the cows across miles from their grazing pastures, she could milk a cow faster than her siblings thereby achieving the status of chief evening milker.
Laura thrived in the wide open spaces, she loved the miles of blue sky with waving waist high grass. She spoke often of the family attending country dances, arriving either by horse-drawn sled or wagon. As the farm was six miles north of Nemiscam, the horses and the driver her dad needed to be skilled in traversing the treacherous roads. This required climbing a steep shoulderless road above a “slump hole”, prairie quicksand which sometimes required the occupants to get out and push the wagon put the hill.
Laura started her education at the one-room Coulee Bank School, a mile from home. She was a keen student and progressed to Nemiscam School to complete her middle years. This required either walking or riding a horse every day to attend school. When Nemiscam school closed in the early 1940s, Laura’s only option was to ride six miles to the corner of Nemiscam and catch the new bus to Foremost to complete her high school. The sympathetic bus driver, Mr. Coffman, thought this was unacceptable and applied to pick them up at their gate instead, ensuring that both Laura and Fran received a high school education.
Laura graduated with her matriculation degree in 1945 and sought further education. In 1946 she applied and was accepted at the Holy Cross Hospital School of Nursing in Calgary in the Registered Nursing Program. She took a bus to Calgary from Lethbridge and lived in the nurse’s residence for the next three years. She was homesick and wrote copious letters home but soon adjusted to the demanding curriculum and emerging city, It was hard but rewarding work and she graduated with her RN in 1949. Many lifelong friendships were made which have lasted over seventy five years.
Her first job was at the Baker TB Sanitorium in Calgary, a new facility for returning veterans. After working at the Baker for several years she accepted a position at the Shaughnessy TB Sanitorium in Vancouver, British Columbia. A bright new facility in an exciting city. She loved Vancouver and thoroughly enjoyed her work.
In 1951, family responsibilities called her home when her dad became ill. She joined the Taber Hospital team in 1951. By this time, her baby sister Fran had followed her into nursing and joined the Taber team as well. Laura was an avid dancer as was her sister Fran and they enjoyed many hours dancing at the hospital parties under the watchful eye of the hospital matron, with the single eligible men.
In 1952 she renewed her friendship with Derek at one of these dances, who also came from the same farming district. They were married in 1953 and commenced their seventy three year romance interspersing demanding work with much dancing. They continued to dance well into their mid nineties, traversing the southern Alberta road winter and summer in search of that next dance. Many friendships sprung up over the years and the dance group often gabbed into the early morning hours at some small cafe. Their marriage was blessed with five children who continue the dancing tradition.
Laura set aside her nursing education once she married and after the birth of her first child. This was a substantial loss for the profession.
During the first sixteen years of their marriage, Laura and Derek supported her mom Katie and brother Gough on Coulee Bank. In addition to her own hectic household, she went down every weekend and cleaned, cooked twelve loaves of bread and pies and did the weeks laundry in the handwringer washing machine. Derek farmed his own land and helped farm and maintain the equipment on Coulee Bank.
Laura and Derek moved to Taber in 1967, building their own house in which Laura lived in until her passing. Laura was a caring person who loved a good laugh, quick wit and great discussion.
The Funeral Service will be held at St. Theodore’s Anglican Church, 5120 – 44 Avenue, Taber on Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 2:00 P.M. Condolences may be forwarded by visiting our website at  www.southlandfuneral.com.
Arrangements in care of Southland Funeral Chapel, Taber. Telephone: (403) 223-8778.