Obituary for Betty K. Johnson
Betty Johnson, 88, of Oak Park died on May 2, 2018. Born on June 17, 1929 in Washington, Iowa, she was raised on a farm, and attended grade school in a one room schoolhouse, graduating from high school in Washington, Iowa. She went on to Grinnell College, then graduated from University of Denver with a degree in speech-language pathology. Following graduation, she moved to Chicago and began as a speech therapist for the Chicago Public Schools. She went on to earn her Master of Speech Pathology from Northwestern University.
While attending Broadway Methodist Church, she met her future husband, Kenneth Johnson. They married in 1956. After having two children, the family moved to Oak Park, which would be Betty’s home for the next 55 years. While raising her family, she returned to work at Easter Seals as a speech therapist and later as the program director for the Chicago area. Later in her career, she worked for Head Start Oak Park as a site director. After retiring, she continued as a national Head Start consultant.
Betty was very active in the life of the Oak Park community. She was member of the League of Women Voters, served on the board for Parenthesis, and volunteered for many years for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. She helped to found the Collaboration for Early Childhood Care and Education in Oak Park. She dedicated countless hours to First United Methodist Church, serving on leadership and education oriented committees.
Betty Johnson is survived by her daughter, Julie (Craig) Zeller; her son, Erik Johnson; and granddaughters Hannah and Madeline Zeller.
A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist of Oak Park, 324 N Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park on Saturday, June 2 at 11a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Collaboration for Early Childhood, 123 Madison, Room 209, Oak Park, IL 60304 or to the music program at First United Methodist Church.
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Previous Events
Memorial Service
Saturday
2
Jun
11:00 AM
First United Methodist Church of Oak Park
324 N. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL 60302
Memorial Contribution
Collaboration for Early Childhood
123 Madison Street
Oak Park, IL 60302
Oak Park, IL 60302
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