Rena Johnson Guerin of Wenatchee, daughter of Finland Svensk immigrants to Canada, entered the peace of God on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. She was born Rena Ingrid Johnson to Victor Lars and Elma Bergman Johnson in Vancouver, B.C. on Oct. 25, 1943.
She grew up enjoying the freedom of a mostly rural childhood in Burnaby, B.C. and was a member of the first graduating class of Burnaby Central High School in 1960. Rena attended Vancouver Bible College and the University of Puget Sound before graduating from Western Washington University with a degree in education.
In 1963 she married agriculture teacher Robert Charles “Chuck” Guerin, who preceded her in death in 1988. Chuck and Rena raised registered Ayrshires and Holstein‘s on their Telegraph Road dairy farm for many years.
Rena taught elementary school in the Nooksack Valley School District, worked in the office of Foothills Physical Therapy, and ended her teaching career as a preschool teacher at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Believing that one should give back to one’s community, she volunteered as a reading tutor and library assistant in the public schools, and as an ESL tutor with Hispanic and Russian adults. She also served eight years on the Nooksack City Council.
Rena’s Christian faith was very important to her. She was for many years an active member of Nooksack Valley Baptist Church, and later a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, where she was deacon, church treasurer, and handbell choir member.
Rena was a prolific reader and book collector, always with a pile of books beside her reading chair and a classical music CD playing in the background. Her reading subjects varied greatly from theology and church history to poetry, physics, string theory, and lots of fiction, especially English mysteries. She was very proud of her Scandinavian heritage and spent enjoyable hours searching for Scandinavian treasures on eBay, and connecting with cousins in Finland and Sweden through Facebook.
Besides her husband, Rena is preceded in death by infant children, son John Charles and daughter, Krista Brynn. She is survived by her dearly loved children, daughter, Heidi (Justin) Fitzgerald of Tacoma, son, Robert (Jessica) Guerin of Cashmere, and beloved grandchildren, Micah Blake, Claira Grace, and Thomas Charles Guerin. Also survived by sister Ruby (Warren) Bernard of Tofino, B.C., and sister-in-law Eleanor (Robert) Mitchell of Redmond, WA, numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins in Canada and the US, and many cousins in Finland and Sweden. A special part of her life was serving as foster parent to Lance (Lori) and Carl Hoepner, and Margo Hoepner Merrill, and others with whom she maintain contact through the years.
There will be a private family burial and no public services. Because of her great love of reading and libraries, Rena has suggested the Friends of the Everson Macbeth Library, P.O. Box 250, Everson, WA 98247, to receive memorial gifts.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
