Elsie K. Johnson

Elsie K. Johnson, 93, of Stevensville, passed away Saturday, April 05, 2008, at Royalton Manor in St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Eternal will be held at 11:00 A.M. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 619 Market St., St. Joseph with Rev. Michael Roth officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph. Friends may call from 2:00 until 5:00 P.M. Sunday at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Mrs. Johnson was born April 8, 1914 in St. Joseph to Demiteri & Lydia (Ulrich) Kowerduck. Elsie attended Trinity Lutheran School. On November 16, 1940, she married Kirk L. Johnson, Sr. at Trinity Lutheran Church. He preceded her in death on January 4, 1990. Elsie was a homemaker for her husband and children. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran and in her spare time, she enjoyed flower gardening and watching the birds around her yard. Elsie is survived by her children-Kirk L. (Mary Jo) Johnson, Jr. of Bakersfield, CA, Kathryn (Loren) Kushman of Columbus, IN, Kathleen (Kenneth) Schulz of Stevensville, Keith L. Johnson of Chicago, IL, Karl W. (Debra) Johnson of South Bend, IN; ten grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two brothers-Walter “Rush” (Geraldine) Kowerduck of Florida, Robert Kowerduck of Coloma; and one sister Bernice Benford of Evansville, IN. In addition to her husband, Elsie was preceded in death by three sisters-Ann Biastock, Virginia Ruth Kowerduck, & Esther Ruppel, and a brother Harold “Max” Kowerduck.