Jessie Johnson Obituary

Jessie Darlene Johnson, 95, died of complications following a major stroke, congestive heart failure and pneumonia on June 15, 2025 at Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Blackduck, MN. She was born, May 30, 1930, in a cabin near Blackduck, the thirteenth child of Edna (Stecker) Hower and John Hower.
Jessie graduated from Blackduck High School in 1948. She met the love of her life, Allan Johnson, while picking potatoes in North Dakota and, on March 17, 1951 they married in International Falls, MN. As a sign of the times, as the story goes, Allan and best man Bruce Hower had a beer in the local tavern while Jessie and Barbara had to wait outside. She always told that story.
Jessie and Allan spent the first fourteen years of married life traveling together in the Western states or working hard on a farm until they were surprised with their first child, daughter Jackie Lynn, in 1965. Allan soon gave up construction work of running heavy equipment and settled home to be a logger and Jessie a homemaker, making their homes over the years in the communities of Alvwood, Blackduck, Big Falls, Northome and back to Blackduck. Their family grew with a second daughter, Melissa Ann(Missy) in 1966 and a son, Andrew Allan (Andy) in 1972.
Cooking was Jessie's passion, with a soup of some sort always in progress. She kept things traditional, for the most part, but was always trying to "sneak in" new additions and combinations before Dad insisted on a return to normal with his beloved "meat and potatoes." Her family's favorites, however, no matter how simple, can never quite be duplicated in the exact ingredients, quantity or style. They include dumplings, pot roast, potato pancakes, venison and cream over buttermilk pancakes with brown sugar syrup, bread n' butter pickles, stuffing with raisins, raisin sauce (she did love raisins), and apple pie.
Jessie also loved her plants and she was happiest surrounded by flowers, as proven by a favorite family photo of her sitting at the kitchen table in a daisy floral shirt, daisy pattern curtains behind her, and a daisy table cloth beneath her folded hands. It was probably 1975 and yes, The Seventies, you could say, were good to her!
As the youngest of a large family, Jessie had many adventurous stories of her youth spent in the woods near Blackduck with nieces and nephews near her age. She adored her mama and stayed close with her large family her entire life.
Jessie had a deep faith in Jehovah and the resurrection and she was a lifelong member of the Blackduck congregation of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jessie is preceded in death by her husband, Allan Johnson, who passed in 2006. She is also preceded by her twelve siblings, Lenora, Vera, Forest, Frank, Dorothy, Eva, Robbie, Archie, Gladys, Johnny, Calvin and Bruce, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. She is also preceded by a dear granddaughter, Emily Montgomery.
Jessie is survived by her daughter Jackie (Wayne) Ward, Virginia, MN, daughter Melissa Johnson, Columbus, OH and son Andy (Michelle) Johnson, Shasta Lake, CA. She is also survived by grandchildren Jessica (Sean) Montgomery and Laura (Mike) Bekkerus (Jackie's children) and great-grandchildren Nico and Nicklaus, grandson Michael Bardales (Melissa's child) and grandchildren Seth (Sierra) Johnson, Luke Johnson and Annalise Johnson (Andy's children).