Mary Ann Johnston

May 10, 1962 - September 25, 2018

Mary Ann Johnston, age 56, of Albia, passed away on September 25, 2018, at the Monroe County Hospital in Albia, surrounded by her loved ones. Mary was born on May 10, 1962, in Orange County, California to Bob and Wanda (Schanzenbach) Whatley. She grew up and attended high school in several different states due to her father being in the military and later a Baptist priest who helped establish churches in several areas. She later attended Indian Hills Community College and received her AA Degree. On July 1, 2004, she was united in marriage to Hugh Johnston in Albia. Mary was a homemaker for most of her life. She also worked at Perkins in Des Moines, Busy Bee Dry Cleaners in Ottumwa, was a teacher’s aide at Kendall School and worked at Quiktron and later at Kum & Go in Albia. She was very talented with crafts and enjoyed working with and sewing leather by hand, painting and making wind chimes. Mary was an excellent cook and loved to prepare homemade full course meals for others. She enjoyed walking the creek looking for bottles and other artifacts and had a love for children and animals, especially dogs. She had a generous heart and was willing to help anyone in need. Her true joy in life was spending time with her family and friends. Mary is survived by her husband, Hugh Johnston; her mother, Wanda Whatley; her 3 sons, Sam (Jessica) Arndt, Matt Arndt and Steve (Megan) Vander Vort; 5 grandchildren, Presley, Emma, Rosalynn, Cirdan and Luthian “Lou Lou”; 2 sisters, Brin (Carl) Adams and Donna (John) Strasko; and her nieces and nephews, Ian, Tiffany, Amy, Michael, Kim and Susie. She is also survived by many cousins and good friends. She is preceded in death by her father, Bob Whatley; and her grandmother, Verna White. Visitation will be held from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. service time on Sunday, September 30, 2018, at the Tharp Funeral Home in Albia with Mary’s family present to greet family and friends. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 30, 2018, at the Tharp Funeral Home in Albia, with Rev. Dan Smith officiating. A private family burial will be held at a later date. An open memorial has been established to the family and will be determined at a later date.