Betty Jean Johnson, 86, of Missoula, passed away on June 12, after struggling with dementia. Betty was born to Woodrow and Belva Hipsher on August 3, 1937, in Kahoka, Missouri. She graduated from Provo High School in Igloo and from nursing school in Rapid City, South Dakota.
She met Norbert Johnson in the summer of 1958 at a diabetic summer camp in Rapid City, where he was camp manager and she was camp nurse. She married him that fall, and they moved to Great Falls, where they lived for 64 years before moving to Missoula two years ago.
While living in Great Falls, Betty worked for many years as a nurse, first at the old Deaconess Hospital, later at the old Great Falls Clinic, and finally for different doctors in private practice. Her twenty-five years of supporting patients was interrupted a couple of times to care for her boys, Todd and Ross, and to be a full-time mom.
Betty truly loved being a good friend and neighbor, being a Guppies Swim Team mom, spending time at Lake Five and Bigfork, skiing, reading, taking photographs, collecting dolls and recipes and art, watching movies, cooking, and entertaining family and friends, especially during holidays.
It was not unusual for fun-spirited Betty to leave singing phone messages, yodel across a lake at night or in the mountains while picking huckleberries, scream happily while sailing, or to do her best renditions of “The Sound of Music” while skiing the Golden Goose at Showdown. Her laugh was infectious, and it often bounced off the walls during cards or Monopoly.
Betty is survived by her husband Norbert, son Todd (Katie George), grand-dog Gus, brothers Jim Hipsher (Sarah), John Hipsher (Lee), and Woody Hipsher (Pat), sister Mary Ringer (Fred), and many nieces and nephews.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Croxford Funeral Home website.
