Shirley Ann JOHNSON

1936 - 2019

JOHNSON, Shirley Ann Shirley Ann Johnson lived a full life, but that life came to an end December 12, 2019. Shirley was born as an only child August 5, 1936 and was preceded in death by her parents Grace and Claire Von Erichsen. She grew up and attended school in Spokane, WA including nursing school and loved to tell humorous stories about being a student nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital. She later married her husband of 46 years, LaVern Johnson and built a home in Liberty Lake, WA where they loved to water ski and ride snowmobiles. Although Shirley worked for a number of years in the medical field, her real calling was art. Even at a very young age, Shirley's talent was obvious as demonstrated in her drawings of designer outfits for her paper dolls when she was very young. After Shirley and Vern moved to Missoula, MT in 1976, Shirley began a successful career as a full-time artist. Her work was shown and sold in several prestigious art shows and galleries in Montana, Wyoming and Washington. She generously donated her artwork to be sold at auctions to support local non-profits. She donated her time throughout the years to teach art in her daughter's schools or benefit her local church and that is how many people remember her. Shirley's favorite medium was pastels and she loved nature, so many of her drawings were birds and animals of all sizes. Shirley was often commissioned to paint specific subjects for her clients and even painted a portrait for the Boy Scouts showing the succession from Cub Scout to Eagle Scout, selling prints to boy scouts all over the world. Knowing she loved animals, it wasn't unusual for a young neighbor to bring her an injured bird or squirrel she would nurse back to health, earning her the nickname of "Doc Johnson". She was well loved and will be greatly missed by her daughter Kelli Johnson and husband Scot Tabert, her son Clifford Johnson and granddaughter Jennifer Richards, husband Mark and great-grandson Jake.