Mildred D. ‘Millie’ Johnson

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Mildred D. “Millie” Johnson passed away Tuesday, March 22, in Pagosa Springs. Service will be announced for a later date. Memorial contributions may be sent to Thrive Medical Testing and Education (www.thrivepagosa.org).

Millie was born May 18, 1924, in Bergen County, N.J., to William Patrick and Elizabeth (Sims) Durgin.

Millie was born and grew up in Westwood, N.J. Her early jobs included clerical and drafting work in New York City. After WWII, she took up downhill skiing with the Ski Club of New Jersey, where she met her future husband, ski troops veteran Arthur Johnson. Once married, they moved to Colorado, where they raised a family in Denver and later Steamboat Springs. They lived for several years in North Carolina before returning to Pagosa Springs.

Following the death of her husband, Millie lived with her beloved brother Robert in Holland, Mass. Dubbed “Team Holland,” the octogenarian brother and sister thrived for five years until Robert passed away in 2011. Millie then lived with her son Jim and his wife in North Carolina until moving to Denver in 2013, staying there with Kathy and Jennifer until her return to Pagosa Springs with Kathy in 2015.

She is fondly remembered by those who knew and loved her for her wit, her grace, her sacrificial spirit, her love of grammar and poetry. Millie loved skiing, gardening, water aerobics and sewing. Millie had a resolute faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior. She held deep concern for the lives of her children and relatives. Her years were characterized by prayer for them.

She is survived by her children: James William (spouse Nancy) Johnson, of Greensboro, N.C, and Katherine Evelyn Johnson, of Pagosa Springs; grandchildren: Emily Dawn (spouse Jacob) Beach, Benjamin Paul Stymfal, Jennifer Rose (spouse Daniel Tafoya) Stymfal, Arthur Robert (spouse Crystal) Johnson, Amy Elizabeth (spouse Todd) Cox and Melinda Anne (fiance Josh Grimaldi) Johnson; 10 great-grandchildren: Ethan, Jared, Megan, Karah, Shawn, Katy, Myranda, Brynna, Christian and William; five nieces and one nephew.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Arthur William Johnson; a son, Steven Alan Johnson; her parents; and two siblings, William and Robert Durgin.