Donna M. Johnson

Donna Mae (Pantzke) Johnson, devoted wife, loving mother, grandma, great-grandma, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully on December 20, 2024 at the age of 86. A funeral service will be held on Friday, December 27, 2024, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Little Falls, MN, at 11:00 A.M., with Pastor Carl Larson officiating. Visitation will be from 9:00-11:00 A.M., at Bethel Lutheran Church in Little Falls on Friday, December 27. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery in Little Falls. Caring for Donna and her family is the LeMieur Funeral Home in Little Falls. Donna grew up in Culdrum Township and Little Falls, MN. She loved to tell stories of visiting all her favorite childhood cousins, neighbors, and friends and then “catching Hap’s eye” when she biked by his home just up the road from her. Donna graduated from Little Falls High School in 1956. She attended a teacher's training school, taught in a country schoolhouse for a year and then worked at Crestliner. On May 10, 1958, Donna married Harold “Hap” Johnson. Their marriage of 66 years was filled with extraordinary love and care for one another. Together, they ran a business in Little Falls until 1993. They loved traveling around the world, fishing, and pontooning with friends and family on Lake Alexander. Donna would say that as long as Hap was by her side, she would go anywhere. She truly loved him with her whole heart. Donna also loved to sing and had a song for everything. She was actively involved at Bethel Lutheran Church for the majority of her life. She had a servant's heart, singing in the choir, helping with Sunday school, and all events there. For her family, Donna was an excellent cook and loved to be a hostess. She was always asking if she could get you something. Donna had a deep love for her family and friends. She was a wonderful role model of what a wife, mom, and grandma could be. Left to cherish her memory are her loving husband, Harold (Hap), of 66 years; children, Jill Johnson (Steve Karnopp), Bradley (Sheryl) Johnson, Kit (Patrick) Girtz, and Robert (Christina) Johnson; 7 grandchildren, Nils (Larissa) Johnson, Aaron (Kayla) Johnson, Lauren (Justin) Berns, Matthew (Claire) Girtz, Carly (Dylan) Sende, Camilla and Anika Johnson, and five great-grandchildren, Jay and Gunner Johnson, Milena Girtz, Cecilia and Hazel Berns; her sister, Yvonne Kalahar, and sister-in-law, Marion Pantzke. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edwin and Alice Pantzke; and siblings, Edwin “Sonny” (Norma) Pantzke, Wallace “Wally” Pantzke, Margie (Phillip) Backowski, and Lynn Kalahar (brother-in-law). Donna will be remembered as a generous, kind woman of faith who loved her family and friends. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by many.

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Donna M. Johnson

January 24, 1938 - December 20, 2024