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After a long, active life, Nina Marie (Peterson) Johnson passed away in Escanaba on September 26, 2022, two months shy of her 98th birthday, the result of a sudden, unexpected, and virulent return of the leukemia she had beaten 22 years ago. Just two weeks earlier she had celebrated her 75th wedding anniversary with her beloved and devoted husband Harold.
Nina was born and raised in Homestead, Wisconsin, growing up in the lovely rolling countryside of the Peterson family dairy farm with her sister and five brothers, helping with household chores, making her own clothes, swimming and ice-skating on the river below the house. From an early age she developed a strong work ethic and a belief in herself that never wavered right up to her final hours. She was an excellent student at the two-room schoolhouse that she walked to attend through 8th grade. For high school, she chose Iron Mountain, the larger city across the river in the state of Michigan. In the spring of her freshman year Nina was struck by scarlet fever, forced to quarantine in a bedroom for six weeks, and recovered with no obvious effects. It was the first of her many serious illnesses and demonstrated the non-complaining determination that she would display many times throughout her life.
Following her graduation in June of 1942, Nina found employment as a bookkeeper in Iron Mountain. In that era of big bands and dance halls, she danced every chance she could. It was in early 1946 at a friend’s house when she met a 21-year-old former high school sports star from the nearby town of Felch, just returned from fighting his way across France and Germany. It was Harold, her husband-to-be. Their first seven dates were basketball games (in which Harold was playing)--an unmistakable sign of what she was getting herself into. On a beautiful early fall day, September 13, 1947, they were married at First Lutheran Church in Iron Mountain and few days later caught a train to Michigan State University where Harold had enrolled under the G.I. Bill. While Harold attended school, Nina worked as a bookkeeper to pay their living expenses.
Following Harold’s graduation, the young couple moved to Harold’s hometown of Felch where he’d been hired as a teacher and basketball and baseball coach. From scrap lumber they built a small, one-room home. Nina worked in the office at the Felch school and prepared meals for teachers until her first child, Jay, was born in 1951. Her second child, Terri, was born in 1955. The following year Harold was hired by John Lemmer, superintendent of Escanaba Area Public Schools, and they moved to the “big” city.
When Terri started school Nina immediately sought employment. She was an extremely hard worker and could take short hand dictation faster than you could talk and type so fast you couldn’t hear the sound of individual keys. For several years she took legal depositions for various firms and in 1965 was hired as the Delta County (47th) Circuit Court reporter, a position she held until her retirement in 1986. At that point Nina and Harold bought a camper van they named “Blue Horizons” and began to crisscross the country. Eventually they sold the van, choosing instead to spend six weeks every winter in timeshare condos in Florida or Arizona. Nina spent her summers tending the flower gardens at their house on 5th Avenue and enjoying her cottage on Round Lake in northern Delta County. Throughout her nearly 60 years at Round Lake, Nina never failed to record in her “Log” the events of the current visit.
During her many years in Escanaba, Nina developed countless friendships, participated in many groups and activities, and contributed time and money to dozens of charitable causes. Notable among these were her years of avid square dancing, her involvement with Bethany Lutheran Church, the “Eskinoers” group of canoeing and cross-country skiing retirees, the major effort to raise funds for the YMCA swimming pool, her charitable donations to the Bonifas Arts Center, and the hours she spent watching bald eagles from the dock at Round Lake and reporting updates on their status to the DNR. For many years Nina and Harold were fixtures at concerts and shows throughout the Escanaba area.
Nina accomplished all of this with a seemingly endless supply of energy and goodwill, despite the onslaught of multiple serious health issues that dogged her for the last 60 years of her life. If there is a single word to describe Nina, it is “unflappable”. Very few people could have endured what she went through, much less have done it without excuses or whining, all the while keeping a positive attitude, accomplishing far more than her share of the work, and serving as an inspiration to those who follow.
Nina is survived by Harold, her husband of 75 years, her two children, Jay Johnson and Terri Parker (Landon), and one grandson, Chase Parker. Also surviving her are two siblings, big sister Ione Shuster (age 103) of Detroit and younger brother Russell Peterson (a mere 92) of Appleton. Her family also includes many nieces, nephews, and their children.
Nina’s funeral with be held at Bethany Lutheran Church in Escanaba at 11 am on October 15, with visitation at 10 am and a luncheon to follow in the Fellowship Room below. Nina loved flowers, so those who wish to make a floral contribution to her funeral are encouraged to do so.
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