- Born on: February 17, 1934
- Departed on: February 6, 2026
- Resided in: Ames, IA
Mary Jane Johnson
Mary “Jane” Johnson of Ames, Iowa died on February 6, 2026, under the care of St. Croix Hospice at Heartwood House in the Northcrest Community. Just a few days short of her 92nd birthday, her journey with Alzheimer’s has come to an end, but her memory will live on. Jane was born on February 17, 1934 to Edwin A. Brockman and Mabel Susanna Kessler Brockman on a farm near Blue Springs, Missouri. She was the fourth of four children. In 1947, the family moved to Kansas City where she graduated from Central High School in 1951. She graduated from nursing school at Research Hospital in 1955.
She married Robert Paulson in 1956 and two children were born of this marriage, David Joseph and Diana Jane. In 1969, she married Hugh H. Johnson, a career Army officer. They lived in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, Heidelberg and Pirmasens, Germany and Ft. Lee, Virginia before his retirement to Overland Park, Kansas.
Family, nursing, and volunteering were the fabric of Jane’s life. Career highlights included serving as Director of Nursing for Staff Development at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, teaching in several schools of nursing, and assisting with clinical research for a pharmaceutical company. Her volunteer activities included Instructor and Instructor trainer for the American Red Cross, The American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society. She was a Reach to Recovery volunteer, instructor, instructor trainer, Missouri State coordinator for the Reach program and served on the National Reach to Recovery advisory board.
After moving to Iowa in 1996, her volunteer activities included: Ames Public Library, Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance Program as a volunteer and board member, Resident Advocate for Green Hills Retirement Community; board member, Central Iowa Symphony; and board member, secretary, and committee chair, Stone Brooke Homeowners Association. Jane was involved in many other activities including ACTORS, Readers’ Theatre, League of Women Voters, book clubs, and bridge groups, but her greatest joy was being with her family. She loved being “Mimi” to Camry and Kelanie and was overjoyed to meet her great-grandson, Matthew, and spend time with him.
She is survived by her children, David J. Johnson (Joyce Baker) of Oceanside, CA and Diana Johnson Crosswait (Glenn) of Ames, IA, two granddaughters, Camry Jane Batteram (Zach) of Elkhart, IA, and Kelanie Anne Crosswait of Des Moines, IA, and one great-grandson, Matthew Thomas Batteram of Elkhart, IA. Others left to treasure her memory include her brother-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Graeme Rosenau of La Mirada, CA; her nieces Kathy Brockman of Olathe, KS, Kim Brockman of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Cheryl Rosenau Crosswait of Fairfax, VA; her nephews Mark Rosenau of Downey, CA, and Paul Rosenau of Santa Ana, CA; her AFS exchange granddaughter Susanna Forbrig, along with husband Enrico Jahn and their daughter Julie Jane Forbrig-Jahn of Wohrden, Germany; and her extended family and friends both near and far.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Hugh H. Johnson, Col., US Army, Retired, her parents, her brother Ralph Brockman and sister-in-law Donna Brockman, her sister Ruth Rosenau, her brother Harlan Brockman and sister-in-law Leota Brockman, and her nephew Ronald Brockman.
From Jane’s early days in a one-room schoolhouse, books were a window to the world. A stained glass window was commissioned for her 65th birthday and can be seen in the Literary Grounds at the Ames Public Library. “Kaleidoscope” depicts how books keep us connected. If you would like to honor Jane and her life-long passion for reading, please consider sharing a favorite book with a loved one or making a memorial contribution to the Ames Public Library Friends Foundation, P.O. Box 1832, Ames IA 50010 or www.aplff.org. No services are planned, so please remember and celebrate Jane in your own way.
