Susan K. Johnson

Susan Kay Johnson, 66, of Moorhead, Minnesota, died of heart failure Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in her apartment at Farmstead Care, Moorhead.

She was born July 5, 1956, in Fargo, N.D., to teachers Halvor and Eris Mae (Larson) Johnson of Moorhead. She attended Moorhead public schools and graduated from Moorhead High School in 1974. She was a talented musician who played flute in school bands and later taught piano to children.

A lifelong member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, she participated in a musical youth group led by pastor Ernie Mancini, and traveled out West with the group in a summer “caravan” through Yellowstone National Park and the Dakota badlands.

Sue studied psychology and communications at Concordia College in Moorhead to prepare for a career in social work, but health issues intervened. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma during her sophomore year at Concordia and went through a rigorous treatment regimen that resulted in numerous health issues later in life.

She resumed her studies and graduated from Concordia in 1979. One highlight was a class trip to Europe, led by one of her favorite professors, Gordon Lell. The trip included tours of London, Paris and Edinburgh, Scotland. She loved her time at Concordia and valued her lifelong Cobber friendships. She was a proud Cobber for life.

She was also proud of her Norwegian heritage and became highly skilled at creating traditional Hardanger embroidery, which she occasionally exhibited and sold at craft fairs under the name Halvorsdatter Hardanger.

After college, Sue moved to Minneapolis and worked in the First Bank System. She hoped to pursue an advanced degree in social work at the University of Minnesota, but again health problems emerged. She loved city life and often talked of returning.

Sue was an active consumer of pop culture and enjoyed following the lives of her favorite musicians and actors. Her deep love of music began in the late 1960s with groups like The Jackson 5 and The Monkees, and grew to include a wide range of artists, from Aretha Franklin to Gordon Lightfoot to Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles. She had a sharp sense of humor and enjoyed standup comedians like Louie Anderson and Jim Gaffigan.

Her greatest joy came from her relationships with nephews Brooks, Chase, and Wyatt. She treasured the time she spent caring for the boys in their younger years and attending their school and sports events.

She was thankful and amazed by the endless support of her 99-year-old mother, Eris Mae, who offered almost daily encouragement by phone from her assisted-living apartment in Fargo.

Sue was a compassionate and giving person who started out in life with a desire to help others as a social worker. As her life evolved and her health deteriorated, she became the one in need of help, and hundreds of social workers and medical professionals helped her over the past four decades. Thank you.

She was preceded in death by her father, Halvor, in 1998.

Survivors include her mother, Eris Mae (Larson) Johnson, Fargo; brothers Steve Johnson, Glenwood Springs, Colorado; and Tom (Diane) Johnson, Fargo; nephews Brooks (Caitlin) Johnson, St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Chase (Allie) Johnson, Fargo; and Wyatt (Channing) Johnson, West Fargo; and great nephews Ellis and Ezra Johnson, St. Louis Park.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, Aug. 29, at 11 a.m. with visitation one hour before the service at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Moorhead.

Burial will be in Prairie Home Cemetery, Moorhead.