Obituary of Sandra Marlene Johnson

Sandra Marlene Johnson was received by her Lord and Savior the afternoon of October 19^th, 2020.  She was born to Stanley and Miranda Stenerson, of Edinburg, N.D., on May 20^th, 1938, in Drayton, N.D.  Sandy graduated from Edinburg high school in 1956 and attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN where she performed as the lead soprano for the Concordia College choir in her Freshman year.  During that year she toured with the choir and sang in such venues as the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and Carnegie Hall in N.Y.C.  On that same tour, she sang an acapella solo for the joint houses of the US Congress, in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.  At Concordia she also fell in love with the tallest fella she had ever met, and after completing an Associate’s degree in social work in 1958 she and Loren Johnson were married in her hometown's Lutheran church.  She and Loren established their home in Lakota, ND, where Loren practiced law and they raised two boys, Jeffrey and Steffan.  A woman of strong faith, Sandy was active in her local church, and was Worthy Matron of her local Eastern Star chapter.  She and Loren moved to rural Bemidji, MN in 1973 and then to Grand Forks, N.D. in 1979, where they lived until 1998.  While Loren continued his legal career in Grand Forks, Sandy operated Our Pastime Antiques; a vocation that brought her much enjoyment over the years.  After Loren’s retirement they moved to Mesa, AZ, and spent seven years in leisure among friends and enjoying the sunshine.  They moved to Duluth, MN in 2005 in search of better medical care for Loren’s needs, and to be nearer to their sons and grandchildren.  Sandy is preceded in death by her sister Sheri Lee, her brother Lon, father Stanley, mother Mandy and Husband Loren.  She is survived by her sister Lyla (Grand Forks, ND), brother Sterling (Cleveland, OH), and her sons Jeffrey (Mary, Roseville, MN) and Steffan (Laurie Chapman, Durham, NC,) six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of the Benedictine Nursing Home in Duluth, MN for their compassionate care of Sandra during her last years. 

A celebration of life for Sandy and her husband, Loren, is being planned for July 2021 in Roseville, Minnesota. 

The family asks that anyone wishing to make a memorial donation in Sandy’s memory please do so through the National Fibromyalgia Association (https://fmaware.net/)