Erma Johnson, 87, a 21-year resident of Whidbey Island, died peacefully in Freeland on July 28, 2009.

Born in Freewater, Ore., on April 29, 1922, Erma was the third child of Wesley and Christel Simmons Derrick. She was raised in the Walla Walla valley and graduated from McLaughlin High School.

Erma’s employment during the early years included working at a cannery, a soda fountain and serving as a live-in cook and nanny in payment for room and board.

After high school, Erma attended Eastern Oregon College in LaGrande, where she was awarded a teaching certificate. She taught at North Powder for the next two years.

On March 9, 1946, Erma married William E. Johnson, Jr. whom she had known from high school days. After first living in Walla Walla, they moved to Pullman where Bill attended Washington State University. Their home in Pullman was a duplex they jointly built and owned with their friends (and relatives) Ted and Donna Johnson.

In 1953, Erma and Bill moved to Laramie, where Bill was a professor at the University of Wyoming. They raised their four children in the home they designed and built on the Laramie plains. Once their youngest child started elementary school, Erma enrolled in the University of Wyoming and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Home Economics. One highlight of the program was the complete interior design plan Erma prepared for their new home.

The family moved back to Pullman in 1964 where Erma managed the fabric department in the Empire Department Store and Bill was a professor at Washington State University. She and Bill were active in the Pullman Presbyterian Church as well as participating in the Bethel Bible Study program.

Upon retiring in 1988, Erma and Bill moved to the Coupeville area on Whidbey Island. Forever active in retirement, Erma and Bill attended the Coupeville United Methodist Church, worked as part of the Seacrest Lane Community Group and traveled throughout the Northwest. Erma enjoyed volunteering at Whidbey General Hospital, being a member of the United Methodist Women’s Group and walking with her regular Wednesday hiking group. Favorite activities included sewing, gardening, cooking, dining with friends and relatives, reading and camping with her extended family.

Following Bill’s death in 2001, Erma downsized to a cozy apartment in Coupeville and more recently to the Maple Ridge assisted living facility in Freeland. She really enjoyed the friendships she made during her year at Maple Ridge and often commented that it was like “going out to dinner every night!”

Erma is survived by her daughter-in-law Georgia Johnson of Nine Mile Falls, the Rev. Dr. David Wesley Johnson and wife Jane of Austin, Texas, and Daniel Eugene Johnson and wife Erin of Bothell; one daughter, Diane Marlene Jackson of Bellevue; seven grandchildren, Shawna Wolfe and husband Jack, Shelli Cummins and husband Shay, and Melissa, Alisa, Marcus, Timothy and Stephen Johnson and multiple great-grandchildren. Erma was predeceased by her husband Dr. William E. Johnson, Jr., her eldest son Richard Alan Johnson, her brother Lyly Derrick and sister Rosalind Derrick.

A Memorial Service was held Monday, Aug. 3, at 3 p.m. at the Coupeville United Methodist Church, Rev Jin Ming Ma officiating. Memorials are suggested to Coupeville United Methodist Church. Arrangements and cremation under direction of the Burley Funeral Chapel.