Mary Elizabeth Johnston

Mary Elizabeth Grandma Farm Johnston, 82, of Marshalltown, died peacefully on the morning of Saturday, February 22, 2014, in the love and care of the Villa del Sol and Iowa River Hospice, with family at her side. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 26, 2014, at St. Henrys Catholic Church. Entombment will follow in the Riverside Mausoleum. Visitation will be held from 5-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home with a 7:00 p.m. vigil service. A luncheon will follow the burial at the Knights of Columbus Hall. The Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Mary Liz and her family. Ph. 641-844-1234. Born Mary Elizabeth Bowman, on December 9, 1931, in Eldora, Iowa, she was the daughter of M. B. (Boyd Bernard) and Katherine (Clary) Bowman. Until her sophomore year, she attended school in St. Anthony and then graduated from the Mt. Mercy Academy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1949. On December 26, 1949, she was united in marriage to William Palmer Johnston at St. Marys Catholic Church in Marshalltown. They made their home in Marshalltown where she was employed at the Marshall County Courthouse (prior to marriage), Structural Engineering, and Fisher Controls, Iowa River Hospice, and did private healthcare in-home for patients. She treasured her family, which was her whole life, and enjoyed her time as president of the Aaron Palmer PTA. Liz will be remembered for many things, including hugs and her beautiful smile, fried chicken and chicken and noodles, and the one word her nephew best described her with: comfort. Left to cherish her memory are her children: Jan Legg, Trish (Terry) Crosser of Marshalltown, Ron (Nancy) Johnston of State Center, and Bernie (Melanie) Johnston of Marshalltown; daughter-in-law, Pat Ernst of Waterloo; son-in-law, Tony Legg of Marshalltown; her treasured grandchildren and families: Kristen (Jim) Gray with Megan, Keaton and McKenna; Tara (Brett) Goecke with Jarrin, Laurin and TJ; Ryan (Cecily) Johnston with Cash, Shelby, McKinley and Paisley; Jill (Ben) Boor; Jeremy (Janet) Crosser with Asa and Ashton; Jami Crosser (Donnie Eicher) with Tylyn, Devyn, Tasia and Stella; Kori (Chris) Grooms with Kade; Kelsi Johnston (Matt Calderon) and Carter; Cameron Johnston; Taryn Johnston (Drew Schulte) and Tahler Johnston (Kyle Wildman); as well as her only surviving sister, Ruth Ann Gibb, of Fountain Valley, California; sisters-in-law: Marty Bowman of Marshalltown, Peggy Johnston of the Iowa Veterans Home; brothers-in-law: Joe (Amanda) Johnston and Tom (Kathy) Johnston; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. In death, Liz rejoined her husband, Wm. Palmer; sons: William Michael Bill Johnston, and Harold Joseph Johnston; brothers: Robert, Donald Butch, and Gene Bowman; sister, Jane; and her parents, M. B. and Katherine Nellie Bowman; grandchildren: Brett and Candance Johnston.