On June 28, 2023, an enormous hole was left in the hearts of those fortunate enough to have known Deloris “Dee” Mae Johns, born to Bertha and Norman Johns on November 26, 1939, in Butte, Montana.
She passed as she lived—a quiet warrior whose strength will forever be a source of inspiration to push beyond what we think we are capable. Round three of cancer proved the only opponent able to best the body that carried her to the top of all but one peak in the Northwest U.S., cycled 1,435 miles around New Zealand and Holland, trekked the Great Wall of China and ran countless miles on the road and court where she dominated at tennis, racquetball and later pickle ball.
Smart, athletic and kind, she excelled at everything she enjoyed: hunting with her dad, hiking, backpacking, water skiing (even barefoot!), running, snowshoeing, golfing, teaching, traveling, photography, drawing, reading, journaling, keeping an immaculate yard, cleaning out the Christmas and Halloween decoration market and making friends.
She received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Montana in Physical Education. She spent most of her teaching career at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, from 1964 – 1999. During her tenure she authored an anatomy lab manual and touched the future through all the students she taught and athletes she coached in tennis and gymnastics.
She is survived by sisters Verna Kessner, Sharon Strunk and Shirley Tuck, sister-in-law Shelley Johns, brother-in-law Jake Tuck, 1 st and 2nd nieces and nephews, and best friends, Jackie Lohman and Jan Boyungs. She is preceded in death by her father, mother and brother, Charles “Chuck” Johns.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Croxford Funeral Home website.
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