Barbara Lee Johnson, 87, of Austin, Texas
Published 8:26 am Thursday, September 5, 2013
Born: Oct. 3, 1925
Died: Aug. 18, 2013
Barbara Lee Johnson, for the past two years a resident of Austin, Texas, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013, at the age of 87.
Johnson
Born Oct. 3, 1925 in Oak Park, Illinois, Barbara led a life of joyful, selfless service to God, and loving devotion to family and friends. Daughter of T. Walter and Kathryn E. (ne. Tenney) Boydston, Barbara was raised in Glen Ellen and Oak Park, Illinois, and spent her childhood summers creating beloved memories at the family ranch in Grover, Colorado. After graduating in 1947 from De Pauw University, she taught in one-room schools in the Niles, Mich. area until her marriage, in 1949, to John W. Gillette. Barbara and John were blessed with three children, Kathryn Ruth (Wisdom), John Todd and Robert Boydston.
Answering a call to ministry, Barbara was ordained in 1966; she subsequently moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where she met Harry Johnson; the two were married in 1969. In 1972, Barbara and Harry became co-founders of Kingsway Missionary Institute, a school dedicated to the teaching and equipping of missionaries bound for Mexico and Latin America. She served the Institute through 1989 as a board member, administrator, and teacher, and was, with Harry until his death in 1985, dedicated to related field ministry and aid work.
In 1990, Barbara moved to Apache Junction, Arizona, where she resumed a life-long passion for oil painting. Her talents made possible a fulfilling vocation as an art teacher and, combined with her love of western landscapes, yielded a large body of beautiful southwestern art treasured by her family today.
Barbara is survived by her three children, Kathy, Todd, and Rob and his wife Debbie; ten grandchildren, Rachel (Darin) Roberts, Cole Wisdom, Jake Wisdom, John Gillette, Stuart Gillette, Lauren Gillette, Jordan Gillette, Trevor Gillette, Tanner Gillette, and Baylee Gillette; and two great-grandchildren, Jackson Roberts and Kennedy Roberts.
Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, Harry Johnson, and by her two brothers, Robert Boydston of Sedona, Arizona, and Donald Boydston of Orlando, Florida.
Beloved by all who knew her grace and spirit, she will be greatly missed.
No services planned at this time.
Condolences may be offered at www.clementswilcoxfuneralhome.com
Arrangements by Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home of Marble Falls, TX.
