Edith Johnston

Edith Glenda Johnston May 23, 1919 to November 5, 2012 Glenda passed away at home in Jackson, Missouri, surrounded by members of her family. She was born in Dexter, Missouri, to John Henry Law and Anna (Allard) Law. She lived briefly in South Africa as a child where her father was a missionary, but lived most of her life near Puxico, Missouri, where she and her husband, Andrew Jackson (AJ)) Johnston, farmed for many decades after their marriage in 1936. In her later years she moved to the Jackson area to live with her granddaughter, Michelle Johnston Cook, and grandson-in-law, Kevin Cook. Glenda's services to the community and especially to her church were numerous. She served as a Vacation Bible School director and Sunday school teacher for many years, and, for decades, was the choir director for the First Baptist Church of Puxico. She was noted for her excellent singing voice and was invited to sing at many community events, both solemn and joyous. Her children and grandchildren especially enjoyed her rendition of "I Want to Be a Cowboy Sweetheart", which ended with her tremendous yodeling. She worked hard to provide for her family and had many homemaker skills. Her pies and cobblers were especially treasured. People were always asking for her recipes, but she usually made her culinary creations with a dash of this and a handful of that. The upstairs of the family's two story house on the Dale farm was filled with a great variety of canned fruits and vegetables in quantities sufficient to survive a famine. Those years when the family had no electricity or other modern amenities, she used a kettle in the back yard to make lye soap and wash clothes. She drew water with a bucket from a hand-dug well. Glenda was preceded in death by her husband, AJ Johnston (1916-1992); her son, Marvin Lee Johnston (1940-2012); and infant children, Barbara Joyce Johnston (1938) and William Ray Johnston (1939). She is survived by her son, Carroll Deane Johnston (Marilyn); and six grandchildren - Marvin's children: Tara Hobbs (Jim), Scott Johnston (Angela), Michelle Cook (Kevin), and Todd Johnston (Dena); and Carroll's children: Heather Johnston and Pamela Burlingame (Josh). She also has 11 great grandchildren and 4 great, great grandchildren. She began as a little country girl who grew up to touch many lives with her unwavering faith, her love of singing, and her wonderful cooking. She was a wonderful mother and grandmother and respected friend. She will be greatly missed by all. Visitation begins at 5 PM and a memorial service at 7 PM on Thursday, November 8, at First Baptist Church, 202 W Richardson Avenue, Puxico. Burial service will be the following day at 10 AM in the Puxico Cemetery. Rev. Ed Dunivan officiating. Memorials may be made to the Puxico Nurtrition Center, 335 N Harty, Puxico, Mo 63960.