Elizabeth (Liz) Fenstad Johnson, 81, of Willow Street, Pennsylvania, peacefully died Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington, Virginia, surrounded by her family.
She was the wife of Rear Admiral U.S. Navy Retired Clarence A.E. (Cricket) Johnson Jr., with whom she shared 57 wonderful years of marriage.
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, she was the daughter of the late Alfred and Frances Fenstad of Grand Marais. She graduated from Grand Marais High School, and Macalester College, St. Paul, class of 1952. An accomplished pianist and organist, she taught music in the public school systems of Deer Lodge, Montana, Duluth, and Silver Spring, Maryland. She and Cricket were married on December 28, 1954.
Liz was a member of Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Lancaster, PA where she and Cricket volunteered with the St. John’s after school care program, Eagle’s Nest. She was a member of The Order of the Eastern Star for more than 60 years.
Liz’s activities included: counselor for the Navy Relief Society; choir director; organist at Naval Chapels; Sunday school teacher; Women of the Church; and altar guild. Her greatest passions were gardening, cooking and her family. Her husband, Cricket, says she had the toughest job in the Navy—serving as a Navy wife.
In addition to her devoted husband, she is survived by three beloved daughters, Carey Lea Johnson Tynan, married to Timothy Tynan, of Arlington, VA; Diane Johnson Kehlenbrink, married to Douglas Kehlenbrink, of Alexandria, VA; and Leslie Johnson Higgins, married to William Higgins, of Newtown Square, PA; and five grandchildren, Mark Tynan, Kelly Tynan, Peter Kehlenbrink, Bretta Higgins and William Higgins III. Liz is also survived by her older sister, Carol Eckel of Grand Marais, and her younger brother, Marshall Alfred Fenstad of North Oaks, MN.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 22, 2012 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 321 West Chestnut Street, Lancaster, PA, 17603. Friends will be received following the service in the adjacent hall.
Inurnment will be at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, MD, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Liz’s memory to the charity of your choice.
Arrangements by Auer Cremation Services of Pennsylvania, Inc.
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