In Memory of Phrona J. Johnson

Phrona Jane Johnson, age 97 of Odebolt, Iowa passed away on Saturday, January 31, 2015, at the Odebolt Nursing & Rehab Center of Odebolt, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Faith Lutheran Church of Odebolt, Iowa. The Reverend Trish Underberg will officiate. Burial will be in the Odebolt Cemetery of Odebolt, Iowa. Visitation will be held from (noon) 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Faith Lutheran Church of Odebolt, Iowa. The Christensen ~ Van Houten Funeral Home of Odebolt, Iowa is in charge of the funeral arrangements. Condolences may be sent online to www.christensenvanhouten.com 

Phrona Jane (Bruns, Woodke) Johnson was born on November 25, 1917 in the rural country, Northeast of Galva, Iowa to John A. and Margaret Law (Patton) Bruns. She was baptized at her home into the Methodist faith. She joined the Galva Methodist Church in 1931 and joined Faith Lutheran Church of Odebolt on October 11, 1942.

Phrona attended country school in Buena Vista County, north of Schaller through the eighth grade. She attended four years of high school in Galva, Iowa, graduating in 1935.

In October of 1936, Phrona married George Willard Woodke and to this union a son, Willard Gene was born.  Her husband died at the University Hospital of Iowa City on February 11, 1939.  She married Earl F. Johnson on December 8, 1940. The couple were blessed with two children, Margaret Ann and Bloyce.

Earl adopted Willard Gene. They farmed in Sac and Ida counties, buying their present farm in 1953, and retiring in 1981. They purchased a home in Odebolt in 1987. Earl passed away on July 9, 2003.

Phrona was active in several community events in Arthur and Odebolt.  She was a 4-H leader in Ida and Sac counties and on county committees. She taught Sunday school and was the superintendent for several years at Faith Lutheran where she was active in the church women, having held various offices. Phrona enjoyed helping Earl with the farming, especially operating the corn picker every fall. They enjoyed camping, traveling, fishing, playing cards, senior dances and spending time with family and friends. She was a volunteer at Odebolt Nursing and Rehab Center and the Auxiliary and enjoyed calling Bingo on each Tuesday for several years.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Margaret Ann (Mervin) Buller of Odebolt, Iowa; Bloyce (Gayle) of West Des Moines, Iowa; daughter –in-law, Barbara Johnson of Medford, Wisconsin; former daughter-in-law, Nanci Boten of West Des Moines, Iowa; seven grandchildren: Dawn, Bradley, Wendy, Natalee, Troy, Trent, and Todd; two step-grandchildren, Steve and Sandi; fourteen great - grandchildren and two step great - grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren and one step great - great grandchild; sister, Orlean Skibsted of Storm Lake, Iowa; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Phrona was preceded in death by her parents,  husbands, George Woodke and Earl Johnson; son, Willard Gene; two grandsons, Gene and Daryl Johnson; brother, Bloyce Bruns, killed in World War II, and Brothers-in-law, Wilbur Pender and Thorton Skibsted.