Lillian Ruth Johnson, the daughter of Ralph and Mable (Purvis) Severson, was born December 1, 1932, in Cambridge, Iowa. She received her early education and graduated from Nevada High School in Nevada, Iowa, where she met Melvin Johnson. They were united in marriage on May 4, 1952, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.
Following their marriage, they moved to Melvin’s parents’farm, and he built a home for them next door to his parents. While they lived there, their two daughters Cindy and Sandra were born. They lived and farmed around Estherville until March 1965, when they moved to Rural Terril to farm. They built another house in the town of Terril in 1978, but didn’t move into it until 1985, when they retired from farming. Lillian worked at Pamida for 11 years in Spencer and was also a homemaker. She was a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In her spare time, Lillian enjoyed knitting and crocheting.
Lillian passed away on November 22, 2021, at the Community Memorial Health Center in Hartley, Iowa, at the age of 88. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Melvin and great-grandson, Cameron Paddock.
Left to cherish her memory are her daughters and their husbands: Cindy (Craig) Prentice of Spencer, Iowa, and Sandra (Dave) Moyes of Cottentown, TN; 5 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren; one sister, Harriette Bullock of Waterloo, Iowa; other relatives and many friends.