Tommie Lou Johnson

Tommie Lou Johnson passed away May 17, 2011 at the Pathways Hospice Center in Loveland. Tommie was born on February 17, 1927 in Clovis, New Mexico to William and Lillian Hodges. She grew up and graduated from high school in Muleshoe, Texas. She lost both of her parents by the time she was seventeen and moved to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to live with her grandmother. After living in Truth or Consequences for many years, working and raising her son, Danny, she married John R. Johnson on November 7, 1956. They lived near her sister in Tulsa, Oklahoma for a few years. They eventually moved to Fort Collins in 1961. Tommie loved to sew and paint. She and John, who was also raised in Truth or Consequences moved back to Truth or Consequences in 1971. There, she opened her own sewing business, selling fabrics and Bernina sewing machines, amassing quite a collection of jewelry by trading with the Indians. She also started taking oil painting lessons and began a long, joyful hobby. Her favorite subjects were southwest landscapes, plants, and Native Americans. She and John built a beautiful home outside of town on 14 acres overlooking the Rio Grande River. John also built her an art studio where she could paint and give lessons. In 1989 they moved back to the Loveland – Fort Collins area. She continued to paint and enjoy her association with the Loveland and Fort Collins Art Leagues. She also began to volunteer at Workday Ladies Outreach center at Christ Center Community Church where she taught sewing to the other volunteers and assisted in sewing clothing and blankets to be given to mothers of newborns at area hospitals. She was a master seamstress who continued to enjoy and create sewn items for years, even learning how to use a computer so that she could use a computerized sewing/embroidery machine. Tommie was very loved and appreciated by her family and friends for her genuine, caring nature. She loved life and maintained an amazing positive outlook while enduring numerous health issues. The family is so grateful to her husband, John, for taking such good care of her as she struggled with declining health. Tommie was preceded in death by her sister, Jinx Howell. She will be greatly missed by her husband, John, her son, Danny Flemings, his wife Marge, and by her extended family: Barb and Kenny Konrad, their daughters, Shelly and Sherry and their families. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday at Bohlender Funeral Chapel 121 W. Olive Fort Collins.