Margaret Claudine Johnson

Margaret Claudine Johnson, 98, of Kasson MN, passed away at home on Friday, June 7, 2024. She was born July 16, 1925, to Iver and Magnhild Murbeck in Minneapolis, MN. As a young child she and her parents moved to Northern Minnesota and settled in the small town of Marcell. She graduated as class valedictorian from Deer River High School in 1943. Margaret attended Concordia College in Morehead for a year and after a brief working career in Minneapolis she met her future husband, Raymond Johnson. They were married in 1948.
Margaret and Raymond settled in rural Kasson in 1959. There they had a dairy farm until retiring in1994 and moved into town. Margaret was very involved as a farm wife and mother to seven children. Her children's activities kept her busy as a 4H leader and with various school activities. She kept everything. Drawers full of newspaper clippings, magazines, brochures and flyers of every sort served as resource material for countless school projects. She kept detailed scrapbooks for each of her children's activities, including scores of 4H & FFA ribbons which only occasionally referenced what the ribbon was for.
Other than family, what mattered most to Margaret was her deep faith and love for Jesus. She had a heart for missions and every year donated to as many as 35 mission charities. She was an active member of South Zumbro Lutheran Church and taught Sunday School, served on women's committees, studied with her circle friends and loved to quilt. She and her quilting friends made and donated hundreds of quilts over the years. She loved to read, work on puzzles. and enjoyed playing games with family.
Family gatherings were important to her. Each Christmas Eve, until Covid, she would host a meal with many Norwegian delicacies for up to 70 family members crowded into her home. The highlight of each Christmas Eve was when she opened her Bible to read the Christmas story from Luke 2. She reminded each of her kids, grandkids and great grandkids what Christmas was all about. Margaret will be remembered as a quiet and gentle personality with an occasional stubborn streak. She was small in stature but big in heart.
Margaret is survived by her children, Kenneth (Ann) of Kasson, Susan Geary of Rochester, Arlin (Beverly) of Kasson, Galen (Sara) of Morristown, MN, Marie (Gene) of Lewis Center, OH, Louise (Farrel) of Pine Island, and Melinda (Bill) of Kasson; 27 grandchildren; 57 great grandchildren; 19 great great grandchildren; brother-in-law, Norman Smith of Kirkland WA; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Raymond; sister, Carol; and son-in-law, Ray Geary.
In lieu of flowers, the family recommends a donation to either the South Zumbro Lutheran Church Memorial Fund or the American Cancer Society.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at South Zumbro Lutheran Church, 68905 280th Avenue, Kasson, MN. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Interment will be in South Zumbro Lutheran Church Cemetery in Kasson, MN.
To share a special memory or condolence please visit www.czaplewskifuneralhomes.com, Czaplewski Family Funeral Homes, 801 7th St SE Kasson, MN 55940 (507) 634-6510. Blessed be her memory.