White Funeral Home
400 First Street West
Independence, Iowa 50644

Independence – Mary C. Johnson, 72 years old, of Independence, Iowa, died on Tuesday, January 1, 2019, at her home.

She was born on February 14, 1946, in Fenton, Iowa, the daughter of William F. and Marie Schmidtke Hantelman. She graduated from high school in Fenton and continued her education by earning a B.A. degree in library science from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. In June of 1973, she and Roger Dean Johnson were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Oelwein, IA. Mrs. Johnson was a librarian at the Oelwein Public Schools. After moving to Independence, she was active with several research projects – some of which she published.  She researched stage coach lines in Iowa, circuses, and several families’ genealogical histories. She was a member of the Buchanan County Historical Society.

Mrs. Johnson is survived by her husband of 45 years, Roger, 1 daughter, Christine (Michael Riechard) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1 granddaughter, 1 sister, Susan (Stephen) Harvey of Jersey Channel Islands, United Kingdom, and 1 brother, Glen Hantelman of Oregon.

She was preceded in death by her parents and 1 sister, Rebecca McCartney.

A Celebration of Life will be held from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, January 11, 2019, at the White Funeral Home in Independence.