Marcia Johnstone

Marcia C. Johnstone

Marcia Carolene (Cerva) Johnstone died on April 22, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif., after a bountiful, well-lived life, and an inspiring, decade-long battle with cancer. She was 74.

Marcia was born in Nampa, Idaho, on Sept. 21, 1938, to William and Doris Cerva. She attended Nampa High School, and graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., in 1960, with a B.A. in English. She became an educator, eventually teaching for the Department of Defense in Toul, France, where she was engaged to then-Cpt. Homer Johnstone of the United States Army. Homer and Marcia were married in Nampa on August 9, 1963.

During Homer's Army career, she bravely and faithfully endured his two deployments to Vietnam and multiple moves, building a loving family while making homes in Ft. Belvoir, Va; Walla Walla, Wash; Leavenworth, Kan.; Tampa, Fla.; McLean, Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; Seoul, Korea; New York City; and San Francisco, where Homer retired as a Brigadier General.

She took great pride in her husband and her three sons, and pursued a rich variety of interests. Beginning in 1987, she became a docent at San Francisco's deYoung Museum, learning about and teaching art history for nearly 25+ years.

Upon Homer's retirement, she moved to Petaluma, becoming involved with the First Presbyterian Church, the Petaluma Historical Society, and numerous other community causes and events.

Marcia was, to the last, the epitome of kindness and devotion. Despite the sacrifices she made as an Army wife, she maintained an abiding love for her nation, and instilled that in her children. Notwithstanding her aversion to cooking, all of her sons were somehow fed enough to top 6 feet by wide margins.

She loved God. She hated snakes. She worried too much. She laughed often. She sought friends tirelessly; made them easily; and kept them closely. She adored art and travel and history and books and people.

She is and will remain profoundly missed by innumerable friends, and by her loving survivors: her husband Homer; her three sons, Michael Johnstone, of Tiburon, Calif., Jeffrey Johnstone, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Ryan Johnstone, of Salt Lake City; and her six grandchildren, Hannah, Lance, Abigail, Kylie, Skye and Gage.

"Well done, good and faithful servant ... enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 939 B St., Petaluma, CA. Those who wish may make memorial contributions in her name to the Wounded Warrior's Project. The family was served by Parent-Sorensen Mortuary & Crematory, Petaluma, CA.