Leona "Punky" Johnson Obituary (1926 - 2021)

Leona "Punky" Johnson, 95, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Mother Joseph's Care Center in Olympia, Wash. on May 2, 2021 of natural causes. She was born and raised in Tenino, Wash. She was the eldest of 4 sisters. Her father passed away when she was 6 years old and was raised by her step-father "Pop" George Keithahn. After high school she worked at Madigan Hospital as a Nurse's Aide during WWII. From there she moved to San Diego, CA., where she met the love of her life, Byron "Johnny" Johnson and married in 1947. They have 2 daughters, Cathy and Carol. The family eventually settled in California. In 1969, Johnny and Punky moved back to Tenino to be closer to her family. Punky loved to play cards, do crosswords, and travel around in their RV. She also loved her weekly shopping trip and lunch with her girls. She will be missed by so many friends and family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Johnny and her sister, Nadine Hacker. She is survived by her daughters, Cathy Johnson and Carol (Denny) Brooks, her 2 sisters, Karen (Jack) Charter, Colleen (Myron) Kirchmeier, her grandchildren, Marty (Stacee) Whitaker, Holly (Brett) Whitaker, Amy (PJ Griffin) McGuire, Jeff (Maxey) Brooks, Cody (Brandy) Brooks and her great-grandchildren Riley, Mackenzie, Harly, Triston, Owen, Radly, and Braelyn. We would like to say Thank You to the staff at Mother Joseph's for taking such good care of our mother during this difficult time. There will be a private graveside service on June 19th followed by a reception in Tenino, Wash., details to come at a later date.