Della Mae Johnson (née Jordan), aged 91, passed away in care of the angels on July 29, 2024, in Bellingham.
Born on May 29, 1933, only daughter, youngest of four children to Bert and Blanche Jordan (Stratton) in Hamilton, WA. They preceded her in death as well as brothers, Wilfred (Delvon), Eddie (Delores) and Merrill (Mary); husband, Carl, Jr. and son, Carl Johnson III (Ella).
Della enjoyed playing with her brothers in the fields on one of the farms they had lived on near Clipper, WA. She delighted in roller skating everywhere to and from the Wickersham Skating Rink. She once spurned an invitation from her future husband to come sit beside him as she was too busy skating. As time went by, the couple met at the local grange for dancing. Carl and Della at long last married on Sept. 16, 1949.
Carl and Della took up a lifetime of dairy cow farming on their farmstead on Noon Road. Busy raising their three sons, she cared for ill parents who came to stay and tended to other farm animals.
Della made sure everyone was family. She was jubilant when visitors dropped by, sharing plenty of laughter and served a scrumptious meal to one and all. The summer hay crews replenished their plates for seconds. When she got her own telephone, it became a boon to her social life as she was on for hours, calling everyone she knew to give news of the neighborhood.
Saturday nights found Della and Carl kicking up their heels at any dance place with live country music. She enjoyed volunteering at the Rome Grange, serving food at the Deming Log Show or preparing sandwiches at the Eagles on Bingo night. Della finally got her driver’s license at age 65. This afforded her freedom to get out and about.
Just before Carl’s passing, she purchased a little car then she was zipping around town visiting or playing cards with friends and family, helping at the Ferndale food bank and continued volunteering at the yearly DLS. Ready for new adventures, Della took off on a dream cruise to the Netherlands, visited the Philippines to see her son, Carl, III and his wife and dared to ride in a hot air balloon.
In subsequent years, unable to drive herself, friends took her on day trips seeking homesteads she had lived on as well as to Hamilton and a glass blowing workshop in Sedro Woolley. A must was a stop at the Dairy Queen for a burger and onion rings.
Known as the Dahlia Lady, Della’s favorite pastime was growing myriads of dahlias. She spent hours outside with her flowers.
Other interests included sewing on her treadle machine, making music on the piano/organ, singing, jigsaw puzzles for hours, playing various card games and Yahtzee (teaching her grandchildren, too), Sudoku, crafting a variety of needlework pieces, and knitting (especially baskets full of hats for individuals and for her collection of baby dolls). Della was a storyteller. She might have been an author, as she had penned colorful worded lifetime journals.
It was no wonder as she loved reading animal and cowboy western stories, Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gable book series along with many viewings of the The Sound of Music sent her on imaginary journeys.
A proud moment in Della’s life was when she had not completed her Mount Baker High School academics. She regaled for years about her brothers having graduated with theirs. Thoughtful friends went to the school to work out a plan in making sure she received an high school diploma to proudly display of her own.
She is survived by two sons: Glenn (Linda, dec’d) and Gary (Diane); grandchildren Merri Schrader (Brian), Joellene Mayschack, Marcy Poortinga (Kevin), Glenn Johnson, Jr., Micheal Johnson (Katherine), Melissa Westman (Thomas), and 10 great-grandchildren. Special family friends: Sally Ruswick, Marc Hubbard, Jason Noteboom.
Join us for Della’s celebration of life (service) on Aug. 18, 2024, 1-4 p.m., 4753 Noon Road, Bellingham.
