Obituary for George Wesley Johnson

Note: The obituary was most likely from The Gordon Journal newspaper, but ran on an unknown date. The same can be said for the funeral announcement and the short bit that ran in the Merriman Monitor newspaper. The text is taken from a clipping made by Johnson’s widow, Sally Berryman Johnson (later Sally Moritz after she remarried) at the time of his death. She placed this clipping and two others in an envelope and left a note on the front “Betty Jean In Memory of Daddy“ meant for her daughter, Betty Jean Schmidt. Of the two other clippings: one was a mention of the funeral itself in the Gordon Journal and the other came from the Merriman Monitor newspaper. Merman was the next town on the highway to the North East of Gordon. It is assumed that the two towns had a fair amount of common business and people were well acquainted similarly to Mt. Angel and Silverton, OR.

George Wesley Johnson

George Wesley Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs George Johnson of Hyannis, Nebr., was born on March 2, 1889, at Omaha, and died in the Rushville hospital on October 2, 1930, at the age of 31 years, 7 months.

At the age of 9 he came with his parents to western Nebraska where he has since made his home. On March 31, 1926, he was united in marriage to Miss Sally Berryman, daughter of W.H. Berryman. To this union one daughter , Betty Jean, was born on October 2, 1927.

In sickness and in health he was always of a cheerful disposition and thoughtful first of others. He was a you man of fine character and sterling qualities and his passing  is mourned, not only by his relatives, but by all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife and little daughter; his father and mother, three brothers and one sister, all of Hyannis; one sister in Salt Lake City, Utah, and one sister in Yankton, S.D., together with may other relatives and friends.

The funeral was held art the Presbyterian church in this city on Sunday afternoon, the Rev. Fenton C. Jones officiating and interment was made in the Gordon cemetery.

Notice of Funeral

Practically everyone from this community attended the George Johnson funeral in Gordon Sunday. The heartfelt sympathy of all his friends here are extended to the bereaved ones.

Mention in the Merriman Monitor newspaper

Words cannot express the sorrow that was felt in this community when word was received on Thursday of the death of George Johnson, and the sympathy of the entire community goes out to Mrs. Johnson and Betty Jean. Everyone from this neighborhood attended the funeral services in Gordon Sunday.

Commentary

The obituary states the date of birth as March 2nd 1889 and the date of death as October 2, 1930. The article also states that he was at the time of death “31 years 7 months,” but that would be an incorrect age listed if the dates of birth and death are correct. He should have be listed as 41 years and 7 months. That said, “31 years 7 months” is correct since he was born in 1899. The newspaper wasn’t the only party that was wrong about his date of birth. It seems to be a common confusion when he died. The memorial card was also incorrect.

The Rushville Hospital was located in Rushville, NE which is a neighboring town west of Gordon.

Joe Schmidt said that George Johnson died of a bowel obstruction which was in turn caused by colon cancer. He must have learned that from his wife Bettie whom in turn learned that from her mother Sally.

Betty Jean Johnson was George and Sally’s daughter’s given and legal name. However, Betty decided to change the spelling of her name at some later date to “Bettie”. It is unknown if she did this legally or not. Karen Ryan, Bettie’s daughter, said she always knew her mother to use the “ie” spelling. Bettie’s civil service application made out after college supports the “ie” spelling, but all of her high school yearbooks and other references show the “y” spelling. It is clear from looking at all of her documents that it was the Fall of 1944 when she decided to change the spelling. What we don’t know is the reason why.

Omaha is in the east of Nebraska. Hyannis and Gordon are in the North West of the state.

If one is to believe that the articles were not embellished, then many people from Gordon and Merriman attended the funeral. If so, then George Johnson was well known and respected. In that era it was customary to attend a funeral of someone you knew even if you didn’t care for their company, but for people to come from another town to attend dampens the obligation factor to a degree.

The “always cheerful” paragraph was in one form or another often written in some fashion for those young men and women whom died in the “prime” of their life. It is hard to say if he really was such a person since this sentiment was a generic and oft used one. That said, Sally was a cheerful and affable person and it would make sense that she was drawn to just such a man. If his reputation was indeed very good, then he came by it honestly since he might have actually been from Hyannis and only moved to the Gordon area (Sally’s family ranch was to the East of town) later while his parents stayed behind in Hyannis (about an hour to the South East).