Roselyn Johnson

Roselyn Johnson age 102, died at Willow Lane Assisted Living on August 7, 2020. She was born in the town of Deerfield, Dane County, on June 14, 1918, the youngest of six children of Lars and Mary Simonson. Her parents and four sisters and a brother are all deceased.

She was a 1935 graduate of Deerfield High school and she received a Bachelor of Education degree from Whitewater State Teachers College in 1940. She taught business education at Shawano High School for two years and at Sheboygan North High School for one year. Then in 1943 she went to Madison. She was employed by the USDA social conservation service, forest products laboratory, and as a deputy in the office of Dane County Clerk.

In 1946 she married Oscar “Ozzie” Johnson, a Madison artist well known for his watercolors and cartoons. They lived their entire married life in Madison and were very active members of Messiah Lutheran Church. He died in 1980.

In 1949 she was employed by attorney John Lawton in the law firm of Beggs and Lawton and continued to work as his legal secretary and later became the office manager of the firm Lawton and Cates, a position she held until her retirement in 1982. She was a very active member in the Madison and Wisconsin legal secretary association and was elected to leadership positions in both organizations.

She moved to Tomah, WI in 1987. While in Tomah she served as president of the Tomah Women’s Club, was a member of the Tomah study club, and a hospital auxiliary volunteer. In January 2011 she moved to Appleton, WI and resided at Renaissance Assisted Living. The past five years Willow Lane Assisted Living was her home.

Roselyn was a lifelong Lutheran and proud of her Norwegian heritage. As a stalwart Democrat she was always interested in politics. She was always curious, liked good conversations, and was an expert crossword puzzle solver doing them in ink until she was 96 when a severe stroke prevented her from doing them. Viewing the Badgers, Packers and Brewers on T.V. was a favorite past time.

As per her request of cremation, she also requested no funeral service. Interment will be at Roselawn Memorial Park in Madison. A private family celebration of her life will be held at a future time.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Judy (Johnson) and Tony Hinden of Appleton, and grandchildren Craig (Stacy) Hinden and their children Kelly and Jenna of Eau Claire; Amy (Jason) VandenBerg and their children Taylor, Nick and Kate of Appleton; and Kristen (David) Sewell of Lake Elmo, MN and their child Ryan.

Special thanks to the staff at Renaissance and Rennes for their kind care. And a very special appreciation to the staff of Willow Lane Assisted Living for their genuine warm and loving kindness and care during the last years of her life.