Arvilla "Skeeter" Johnson

Johnson, Arvilla Irene “Skeeter”, age 87, passed away on July 31, 2024 at home surrounded by family after a courageous three-year battle with recurrent endometrial cancer. 

Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Sister, Aunt, Friend, and wonderful human being. Preceded in death by her parents, Mike and Adele Boese, sister and brother-in-law, Wilma and Bruce Bumbard. Survived by her loving husband of 67 years, Stan; three sons, Jay Johnson (Tricia), Jim Johnson (Jolynn), Jerry Johnson (Tara Daily); seven grandchildren, Erin Morris (Andrew), Stephanie Johnson, Jeffrey Johnson, Jamie Johnson (Cooper), Lindsay Johnson, Peyton Johnson, and Parker Johnson; three great grandchildren, Nathan and Molly Morris, and Rylee Johnson; two sisters, Barbara Huber and Sally Smith; and several nieces and nephews.

Nobody knew her as Arvilla, she was always “Skeeter” and what a fitting name it was – she was feisty and fierce. Born September 11, 1936, in upstate New York, she grew up with three sisters on a Guernsey dairy farm in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. She loved life on the farm and showing cows with her sisters at the Jefferson County Fair. That love carried through her entire life. During the Freeborn County Fair, she would buy a season pass and attend every day. She was a fixture in the stands at all the livestock shows – cattle, sheep, pigs, she joyfully watched them all. If the County Fair hosted funerals, she would have requested it. Just to remind her sons of her place in the family, every fall she would display her Homecoming Queen photo on the kitchen refrigerator. She invented the “flex”.

Skeeter attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, which is where she met the love of her life, Stanley. Graduating with a teaching certificate, her first job was teaching in a one-room schoolhouse. She married Stan in 1956 and they spent several years pulling their mobile home around Wisconsin where she taught school and Stan worked road construction jobs to put him through college and graduate school. Despite the success and stability they would find later in life, she often spoke fondly of those vagabond days.

They planted roots in Albert Lea when Stan took a job buying cattle for Wilson & Company. As Stan worked his way up the corporate ladder they were required to move frequently and spent time living in Omaha, Cedar Rapids, and Chicago. Skeeter made lifelong friends at every stop. When they returned to Albert Lea, Skeeter attended night school at Minnesota State Mankato and earned her four-year degree, which allowed her to teach school in Minnesota, which she never did preferring instead to be a full-time “Homemaker”, a career she proudly perfected. She was the best of the best.

Skeeter loved friends and family. She was constantly on-the-go. Her favorite things were hosting dinner parties for friends, weekends at the family cabin with grandkids, and hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and the 4th of July holiday celebrations. She expertly planned the food, decorations, and the agenda, which always included games. Games that included the likelihood that someone might get mildly injured, their ego bruised, or embarrassed were her favorite. Those close to her knew that if she was laughing you better do a quick check to make sure your pants weren’t on fire or hadn’t fallen down. She loved to laugh. Laughing with you was fine, but laughing at you or your misfortune was even better. We will greatly miss her humor.

The world lost a great one, heaven gained a saint. Skeeter’s family would like to thank Dr. Brian Bunkers, Mayo Family Physician; Dr. Matthew Block, Mayo Clinic Medical Oncologist; and the Mayo Hospice team, especially Nurse Jenny Ladwig, for the care and compassion they gave Skeeter and her family during her battle with cancer.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00 AM, Tuesday, August 6th, 2024 at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1101 Highway 69, Albert Lea. Visitation prior to the service starting at 9:30 AM. Burial following the service at Graceland Cemetery Albert Lea. Luncheon in celebration of Skeeter’s life starting at 12:30 PM at Wedgewood Cove, 2200 W 9th Street, Albert Lea. 

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Ascension Lutheran Church or an organization of the donor’s choice.