TRAVERSE CITY – Mary Louise Johnson, 95, of Traverse City, passed away on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at Orchard Creek Supportive Care, where she had resided since 2016.
Mary, known as "M.L." to her southern family, was born on December 18, 1924, in Oil City, PA, to the late James and Mary Louise (Dempsey) Bohlken.
The daughter of a civil engineer and a southern belle, Mary spent her childhood in Memphis, TN, and Arlington, Virginia, where she graduated from Washington-Lee High School in 1942.
Mary attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, for two years, where she met Walter Johnson, a mechanical engineering student (he was a night watchman, she worked the night switchboard). They were married at Clarendon Methodist Church in Arlington on August 21, 1946.
During this time, Mary attended Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA, as part of the Nurse Cadet Corps, graduating in 1947.
The city girl then moved north to the Old Mission Peninsula to become a farm wife and begin a life of devoted service to the community. She was a member of Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church (formerly Ogdensburg United Methodist Church), where she played the organ for more than 50 years. She was also a member of the Old Mission Women's Club and Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society, and she served on the board of Peninsula Community Library, helping to secure the land on which the new library was recently built. A registered nurse, she was employed at Munson Medical Center in the 1950s and 1960s.
Mary's hobbies included gardening, reading, crosswords, quilting, painting and mowing the lawn on her riding lawnmower. She loved working on the farm, picking apples, hauling cherry tanks with "her" 430 Case tractor, and managing the big strawberry field down from the barn. She loved old movies, especially musicals, and she was an avid fan of all thing's science fiction, especially Star Trek and Babylon 5.
Mary is survived by her sons; Dean (Laura) Johnson and Ward (Carol) Johnson, daughter Jane (Tim) Boursaw, daughter-in-law Terilee Johnson, son-in-law Stephen Lewis, and grandson-in-law Cory Reamer, all of the Old Mission Peninsula. She is also survived by seven grandchildren; Heatherlyn (Randy Stuck) Johnson, Danielle Lewis, Ryan Johnson, Shawn (Krystal) Johnson, Nicholas Johnson, Will Boursaw, and Marissa Boursaw; five great-grandchildren; Emmalyn Reamer, James Reamer, Olivia Johnson, Tre Hargrave, Landyn Hargrave, and many nieces and nephews.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Jane Wingert, her husband Walter Johnson, and her daughter Carolyn (Stephen) Lewis.
A funeral service will take place at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church, with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Mary will be laid to rest next to her husband at Ogdensburg Cemetery, adjacent to the church. A luncheon will be served at the church following the service and burial.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Peninsula Community Library, 2699 Island View Road, Traverse City, MI 49686, and Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church, 16426 Center Road, Traverse City, MI 49686.



Many thanks to the team at Orchard Creek for taking such good care of her these past few years. She loved the Wednesday sing-alongs (and remembered all the words, despite her memory loss) with Mary Sue Wilkinson.