Ann Mohrbacher Johnson

Ann Mohrbacher Johnson, 85, of Ashland, Oregon passed away on Wednesday March 11 in Ashland Asante Community Hospital following a lengthy illness. Ann was born on July 9, 1940 in Denver, Colorado to Hugh Winton Mohrbacher, a native of Marysville, Kansas and Mayme Walker Bowling of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Ann spent her early life in the Washington, DC area, with a brief and magical early childhood period in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil due to her father's position with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Following high school in Virginia, she attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri obtaining a degree in mathematics followed by studies at George Washington University, and Roosevelt University in Chicago where she graduated in 1962 with a degree in Political Science. While attending GWU, Ann worked on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy and later joined the staff of then-Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. Her Capitol Hill experience was followed by her joining the corporate technical support staff of the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward Company. A subsequent marriage to Neal Johnson during this period ultimately ended in friendly divorce.
During her time in Chicago, Ann joined the fellowship afforded by Alcoholics Anonymous and actively participated in the mental, physical and spiritual offerings of AA for 43 years making innumerable close, caring friendships that endured throughout her life.
In the 1980s, Ann decided to leave Chicago and explore opportunities in the far west, selecting Ashland, Oregon as her new home and where she lived for the remainder of her life. With her high-energy entrepreneurial spirit, she became a successful independent marketer of Mannatech dietary and personal care products for many years until retirement.
Ann lived her life with ever-present joy and optimism and was revered for her ability to radiate loving kindness to all around her including members of the animal kingdom - especially domestic felines. Throughout her adult life, Ann demonstrated a deep affection for cats - especially those homeless and in dire need. For years, in coordination with local veterinarian services, animal shelters and fellow cat lovers, she utilized most of her residential living space as a full-service, well-equipped cattery, caring for many dozens at a time. She made certain they all had names and received, in keeping with her favorite term, "tons of love".
She leaves behind large numbers of close, admiring friends from coast to coast as well as an enormous number of extremely fortunate domestic felines.