Our dear Mom, Grammie, Great Grammie and Sister Janet Ellyn Johnson Klassen was born to Leonard and Ruth (Nichols) Johnson in La Junta, Colorado, USA, on July 23, 1952. She peacefully passed away from complications of surgery on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, reaching the age of 74 years.

At the age of 8, she moved with her family across the Canadian border during a blizzard. There they settled on the massive Vee Bar Vee Ranch in Southern Alberta, along with her much-loved Uncle Vernon Nichols’ family. Although they only lived there for about a year, it seemed they packed a decade's worth of memories into that short time. From there, they moved to Linden, AB, where they lived until she was 13; afterwards, they moved up to Homestead in Silver Valley, AB. She had a fun memory of riding inside of their house while it was being moved the 90 miles from Grande Prairie, AB, to their homestead that they had carved out of the muskeg.

She was baptized into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite on December 18, 1966, in Silver Valley, AB, at 14 years of age.

At 16, she left home, moving to Grande Prairie to work to send money back to her family. This is where she met her husband-to-be.

At 17, she moved to Fairview, Oklahoma, USA, where she worked as a nurse aide and lived among her family, making precious lifelong friends. On March 7, 1971, she was married to our dad, Denver Klassen, in Fairview, Oklahoma, by her Grandpa George Nichols. They settled in Grande Prairie, where they welcomed their eldest daughter, Tanya, and then moved to Crooked Creek, BC, where two more daughters were born. In 1983, we moved to Edberg, where Dad built Mom her 3rd new house. Together they started Sierra Design Furnishings, building church furniture. This business included all of us as a family, and we often travelled together to install church pews.

One of Mom’s highlights was going to Guatemala with Dad in 1976 with the Red Cross to rebuild after the earthquake. While working together, they made many special friends. While there, Mom bought a notebook where she began writing out songs she loved and kept adding to it through the years. She taught us girls to sing by ear, and we spent many hours singing while travelling in our old blue car. Singing was an integral part of Mom’s life and was passed on to us girls. Even as a teen at home, she made her brothers sing, and they remember being threatened with a broom if they did not comply. She also loved designing, decorating, and managing the log cabin bed & breakfast that dad built on our farm.

She had an extraordinary relationship with her nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly, and they loved and cared for her in return. She had the ability to relate to anybody in any circumstance.

All of us knew that Mom’s purse held the answers to most immediate problems, and her grandchildren found much joy in its depths.

In her later years, she tried hard to disguise how much pain she was in and could deeply empathize with anyone who was hurting.

She gave the best hugs, and we will deeply miss her snappy comments and colourful humour. Even when not feeling well, you couldn’t pull anything over her! In the last year, each of us girls has had a special time with her. Her softness of spirit and deep love for us was evident. Whispering the name of Jesus carried her through her deepest suffering. A song that came to one of us girls in a special way during her final hours was “It Is Well with My Soul.” It feels like a light has left this world, yet we are so grateful that God, in His mercy, relieved her suffering. Her last text to her eldest daughter was “I will be doing better in the morning. Love, Mom”.

Those who will miss her most are her daughters, Tanya and Adam Mason, of Greensburg, Kansas, USA; Yolanda and Mike Damen, of Enderby, BC; Michela and Kelly Toews, of McPherson, Kansas, USA. Her grandchildren, Madison, Ethan, Elle, and Cy Yost, Clarabelle and Jared Isaac, Cole and Cheyanne Damen, Autumn and Adam Reimer, Clark Damen, Jordan, Leah, and Damian Toews; her great-grandchildren, Everly, Hope, Oaklynn and Husband Denver Klassen; her brothers, Arlen and Joanne Johnson, Merle and Debra Johnson, Stanton and Becky Johnson, Nolan and Sheri Johnson; her sisters, Diane Reimer and Rhena and Roger Toews; her sister-in-law, Fay and Robert Isaac; and her special friends, Star, Rachel, Dot and Becky.

Preceding her in death are her parents, her older brother, Delton Johnson, her brother-in-law, Ellis Reimer and her nephew, Trenton Toews.

We would like to give a special thank-you to Aunt Rhena for her loving care of our mom. Your prayers, messages, and meals have been such a comfort to the family. Thank you.

A Public Viewing will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Mount Ida Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, Enderby, BC.

Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the Mount Ida Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, Enderby, BC, with a Graveside Service to follow. A Reception will be held at the Mount Ida Church of God in Christ, Mennonite.

If family and friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made directly to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Janet's family here.