Lura Mae Johnson

Lura Mae Johnson, 86 of Spencer and Okoboji, IA, passed away on March 10, 2015 in Tempe, AZ. Funeral services will be held at Grace United Methodist Church in Spencer, IA on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 1:00 P.M., with a graveside service to follow at Riverside Cemetery. Lura Mae Whitfield was born in Des Moines, IA on June 7, 1928 to Irma (Cowan) and Allen Whitfield. She spent her youth in Des Moines and in Virginia, where she attended St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA. Following her high school graduation, she attended Iowa State College, becoming a member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority, Mortar Board Senior Honor Society and playing on the Iowa State Field Hockey team. She graduated with a degree in Education in 1950 and on December 22, 1951 she married Merle K. Johnson in Des Moines. After Merle graduated from veterinary school at Iowa State in 1952, they settled in Spencer, IA where Merle began his veterinary practice. Lura Mae spent the next 40 years raising 4 boys and actively volunteering in many community activities. She was a long time member of PEO Chapter KF in Spencer. Her passion was golf and she was quite prolific, winning the Spencer Golf and Country Club Championship many times over the years. In fact, she actually won her last title at age 63 in 1991! Beginning in 1990, Merle and Lura Mae split time between summers at Lake Okoboji and winters in Arizona, which continued after Merle's death in 1993. Besides her golf and some traveling, Lura Mae enjoyed spending time with her family of sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many friends. Lura Mae will be remembered as a loving, positive and supportive mother who pushed her boys to reach and exceeed their abilities. She instilled a competitiveness which has served them well and, when they fell, acted as their safety-net while teaching them to get up and try again. If you knew Lura Mae, you'd agree she was a classy and compassionate lady who served others' needs before her own, every day of her life. Lura Mae was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and her oldest son, Mark. She is survived by her brother, Harley (Syrena) Whitfield of Spirit Lake, IA and their family; a daughter-in-law, Diane Johnson, of Tempe, AZ; Dr. Craig (Kathy) Johnson of Manson, IA; Allen (Mary) Johnson of Chandler, AZ and Kirk (Roberta) Johnson of Reno, NV. In addition, she has 7 grandchildren - Brent, Brian, Elias, Sean, Natalie, Mira and Maelia; and 4 great-grandchildren - Maverick, Cameron, Giovanna and Wyatt. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in her name to: Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85044; Grace United Methodist Church, 311 2nd Ave. West, Spencer, IA 51301; or Okoboji Summer Theatre, PO Box 341, Spirit Lake, IA 51360.

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