Aileen Johnson

Aileen Marie (Olson) Johnson died Friday September 14, 2018.

She was born on November 22, 1928 to Harold and Edna (Hangartner) Olson, and was the eldest of five children, including Christine Hebert, Linda Albert, and two siblings who preceded her in death, Don Olson and Mary Gray.

Aileen was a lifelong Two Harborite. In high school, she played the string bass for basketball games, and watched her sweetheart and future husband Warren Wesley Johnson play ball. She was an x-ray technician and worked for Dr. Papermaster’s office downtown. Aileen and Warren married in 1949 and had four children, Julie (John) Westlund, Mitch (Vicki) Johnson, Diana (Arjun) Divecha, and Kurt (Wendy) Johnson. While the children were growing up, she was active on numerous school and community committees and ran the business side of the family’s milk distributorship, The Dairy Center, for 25 years.

After her children left home, Aileen returned to college, and at the age of 65 earned a B.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She was an ardent feminist and staunch progressive: her favorite discussion topics were politics and family. She loved a good laugh, and often expressed her affection by cooking pots of soup, jars of jam, and casseroles for others. Most of all, she loved her six grandchildren, Aaron and Andrew Westlund, Matt Johnson, Zai and Mia Divecha, and Libby Johnson, as well as her great-grandson Ace Westlund. She always took an interest in what the young people in her life were pursuing.

The family will hold a private remembrance at a later date.