JoAnn Colleen Johnston

JoAnn Colleen Johnston age 62 of Slayton, MN, formerly of Tracy, died Sunday, January 5, 2014 at the Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Services will be held 1:30 PM Saturday, January 11, 2014 at the Presbyterian Church in Tracy. Interment will be in the Tracy City Cemetery. The Almlie Funeral Home of Tracy is handling the arrangements. JoAnn Colleen Johnston was born October 16, 1951 to Gordon and Betty (Rea) Johnston in Tracy, MN. She was born prematurely and was very small. She had three heart defects, scoliosis, and a cleft of the soft palate. At the time there was no surgery available for her heart issues. The first open heart surgery at the University of Minnesota was not performed until 1952 by Dr. John Lewis, formerly of Tracy. On July 23, 1961 when JoAnn was almost ten, she had the surgery done in Rochester. She was given a poor chance of success, but she made it through. Her recovery nurse happened to be Mrs. Weaver, also formerly of Tracy, who brought her fresh flowers from her garden every day. JoAnn began her education at the Tracy Public School, but her health and speech difficulties made it tough for her to keep up. The school assigned Mrs. Harold Hook as JoAnn’s tutor, who helped with her education through the 12th grade. She also took piano lessons from Mrs. Hubbard, who taught her the chords, but she learned the notes more by ear than by reading them. She even made up several songs of her own. After completing school JoAnn lived with her grandmother, Hattie Rea. She helped her clean and made sure she took her proper medications. JoAnn, her grandmother Hattie, great aunt Nyna, and neighbor Jessie had coffee almost every afternoon together. When her grandmother, great aunt and neighbor all died within a short time span, it had a dramatic effect on JoAnn's mental health and dealing with the fear of loss. This caused her to need care in the Wilmar State hospital. She then lived in group homes in Lindstrom, Marshall, and most recently Slayton, MN. In the last few years her health deteriorated and caused her to become a resident of the Prairieview Care Center in Slayton. JoAnn enjoyed reading, watching TV shows: Captain Kangaroo, Miss Frances, and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson were some of her favorites. She also loved listening to music and wore out many phonographs in her childhood. On Sunday, January 5, 2014 JoAnn died at the Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 62. JoAnn is lovingly remembered by her mother, Bettie Johnston of Tracy, MN; one sister, Jeanette Marshall of Superior, WI; four brothers, Alan (Judy) Johnston of West St. Paul, MN, Steven (Connie) Johnston of Rochester, MN, Philip Johnston of Minneapolis, MN, and Kent (Julie) Johnston of Tracy, MN; six nieces, four nephews, four aunts, three uncles, and fifteen cousins. Her father, Gordon Johnston, her grandparents, brother, Paul, three uncles, two aunts and two cousins, preceded her in death.