Mary "Beth" Johnson

Mary Elizabeth Johnson
Born February 17, 1942 - Died January 18, 2022

Our Mother, Beth, was born to Charles Van and Wilma Maxine (Wood) Henkle on February 17, 1942, in Hotchkiss, Colorado. Her family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1950. Beth graduated from high school in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Shortly after graduation, her family returned to Colorado. Beth attended Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. While attending college, she met Manuel Trujillo. They were married July, 1 1961. They lived for a few years in Brighton, Colorado where they had five children: Mark, David, Lisa, Brian, and Mike. In 1969, they moved to Northglenn, where Beth lived for the remainder of her life.

Beth married John Johnson on June 8, 1985. She gained four stepchildren, Lynn, Robin, Brian, and Amanda.

Beth was always a very creative person. When her kids were young and money was tight, she did many home-improvement projects with sweat equity and a few inexpensive supplies. She hung wallpaper, planted flowers, refinished many pieces of furniture, sewed kid's clothing and other items, made many needlework pictures, and painted murals on her kid's walls. John made wooden cutouts and Beth would paint them and add her special touches. Beth was a talented watercolor painter. She loved exploring color and light and how to highlight them in her paintings.

Beth enjoyed spending hours in her yard - she loved flowers and plants. She inherited her love for plants from her father. Beth loved photography and taking photos of all her beautiful flowers and plants. She made many of these photos into homemade greeting cards. She worked for many years as a plant technician caring for plants in businesses. On e of her first jobs was delivering plants - she came home for lunch one day driving a school bus converted to plant delivery vehicle.

Beth was active in her church where she arranged flowers for many Sunday services, made many beautiful banners to decorate the sanctuary, and made and served food for the weekly community dinners. She also enjoyed planting and tending to the church's community garden. She participated in the annual craft fair where she made homemade goods like her photo cards. She made many good friends there over the years. This was her chosen family.

Beth loved cats her entire life. From the time she would save them from her ornery little brother, until the very end. She had numerous pet cats throughout her life. There was always at least one in her home. Her beautiful cat, Stormy, was her faithful companion until recently.

Beth enjoyed many trips to Taos, New Mexico, to visit her sons. She enjoyed one-on-one time with them as they drove her around showing her the places they loved. They would see scenic landscapes, visit art galleries, old churches, abandoned buildings, and so many beautiful places. There was usually at least one dog in tow.

Beth was preceded in death by her parents: Charles Van and Wilma Henkle, her son: David, her former husband: Manuel, and her husband: John. She is survived by her siblings: Ann and Chuck, her children: Mark, Lisa, Brian, and Mike, her step-children: Lynn, Robin, Brian, and Amanda, her grandchildren: James, Michael, Anthony, David, Calvin, Marcus, Margo, Brittany, Brianne, Brandie, Christine and Christopher, her step-grandchildren: Vanessa, Rhett, Jacqueline, Jacob, Nathan, Emma, Danielle, Laila and Samuel, her great- grandchildren: Caitlyn, Marcus, Sophie, Allison, and Charles.

In lieu of gifts, donations can be made to Intercession Episcopal Church to help sustain the community garden. Beth also requested that you give flowers to your friends and loved ones while they can still appreciate them.