Bernice Elaine Johnson ("Nicky")

Bernice Elaine Johnson (“Nicky”), 95, passed away peacefully from natural causes at Heritage Monona Memory Care on January 17, 2022, Monona, WI.

A visitation will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, with the service at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Roselawn Memorial Park, Monona, WI following the service.

Bernice Elaine Young was born on the Anton A. and Emma I. Severson (née Moen) family farm in Black Earth, Wisconsin, to Clarence Lloyd and Anna Emelie Young (née Severson) on September 29, 1926.  Her parents later settled in Monona/Madison, WI, where Bernice attended Dudgeon School through the fourth grade.  After her parents built a home and moved to the East side, she attended Frank Allis School and East High School, graduating in 1945.  She excelled in mathematics, English, music, and art.  As a young adult she took sewing classes, became an excellent seamstress, and designed many of her own clothes.  She also enjoyed poetry, crafts, jewelry assembly, and thrift store shopping.  She loved riding her bicycle on the many Madison bike paths, which she did past the age of 70.

Bernice resided in Iowa, Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania until she again returned to Madison where she attended the University of Wisconsin extension classes for computer science.  She worked briefly in administration for the Department of Social Services.  She later was a caregiver for her grandmother, her father, and her mother until their deaths.  She was a member of St. Dennis Catholic Church.

As a young adult she pledged into Epsilon Sigma Alpha International Sorority, working with her sorority sisters to raise money for charities such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Easter Seals, East Madison Community Center, and Neighbors in Need of Assistance (NINA).  She was a former member of the University of Wisconsin Dames Club, the Eagles Auxiliary, and the Jazz Society in San Antonio, TX.  While residing in Muscatine, IA, she was a homemaker, seamstress, and the proud mother of an Eagle Scout (son, Thomas Jerome).

She is survived by a brother, LeRoy (“Lee”) Young (Mary Ann); 3 children: Thomas Jerome Anthony (Sue), Janice Eileen Willits (James), and Carol Jean Anthony; 4 grandchildren: Sean Raymond Doyle (Dawn), Victoria Ann Baltzell (Tim), Dale William Willits (Sharon), and Jennifer Sue Haugh (Bradley); 8 great-grandchildren:  John Robert Doyle, Tyler Alexander Doyle, Alyssa Nicole Doyle, Colin Michael Doyle, Alyssa Rae Hoerle, Emily Morgan Brewer, Alexandra Suzanne Baltzell, and Kaia Jennifer Haugh; 4 great-great-grandchildren:  Eleanor Jane Hoerle, Jude Silas Hoerle; Aiden Ray Brewer, and Everlee Rose Brewer; plus numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and step-children.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Clarence Lloyd Young (1981) and Anna Emelie Young (1998); her sister, Florence Lillian Balch (Robert, 2005); her brother, Lloyd A. Young (2013); her first husband, Eugene Michael Anthony (2019); and her second husband, John Everett Johnson (2008).

The family would like to thank the following assisted living and memory care centers and individuals for their loving care of Bernice over the years:  Reynolds Assisted Living and Memory Care, Chamomile Assisted Living, and Heritage Assisted Living/Memory Care, all of Monona, WI; Care Wisconsin; Guardians: Dr. Kay Heggestad, Diane Loui, and Jerome Flowers; and Agrace Hospice, all of Madison; plus Ann Dorschel, Amy Scarr, Ann Blasczyk, Mary Hein, Donna Winter, and the anonymous utility employee who first alerted social services to Bernice’s declining living situation and dementia, all of Madison. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com

When love and life are wandering died

And the sky turns black and grey

When thunder wakes your restless sleep

And clouds fill your eyes with tears

I'll pocket you a rainbow

And tip you a ray of the sun.

Such is shared by those who know

That love and life are one.

(Thomas Klausmeier, 1978)

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420