Marilyn Irene Johnson was born in Clinton, Ontario to Fred and Irene Miller. After high school, Marilyn attended Goderich Business College. In 1962 she married Henk Halff of Holland and they had two children, Shelley and Natalie. After Henk drowned, Marilyn moved with her girls to Prince George, BC, where she had a son, Jamie.
In 1973 Marilyn married Kirk Johnson of the Kluane First Nation and they settled in Williams Lake and had a son, Shane. While raising her children, Marilyn enjoyed many good times with friends and helped a lot of people. Once her children were grown, Marilyn attained a bartending license and worked at the Alexandria Indian Band, Kat-Ali Store, and Anaham Elders Society. For 14 years Marilyn was the bookkeeper and secretary at the Tsilhqot’in National Government where she enjoyed babysitting the staff’s children.
After “retiring” in 2004, Marilyn was hired as a Walmart greeter when the store opened in W.L. She always loved people and had the “gift of the gab,” so being a greeter was her dream job. Marilyn liked country music, crime documentaries, crossword puzzles, hairstyle magazines, cookbooks, and shopping for her grandchildren. She made friends everywhere she went and was treasured for her sense of humor, story-telling, honesty, intelligence, compassion, generosity, and style. She will be dearly missed by us all.
Marilyn is survived by her daughter Natalie, son Jamie, daughter-in-law Rebecca Johnson, grandchildren Chantal, Jimmy, Kirk and Shelly, brother and sister-in-law Bob and Sharon Miller, and great-aunts Evelyn Harrison and June Bond. Marilyn is pre-deceased by her daughter Shelley, son Shane, and common-law husband Roger Wycotte.
Special thanks to the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at Cariboo Memorial Hospital for their care during Marilyn’s brief illness.
In lieu of flowers, be nice and share a laugh in Marilyn’s honor, or donate to a charity of your choice.
A celebration of Marilyn’s life will be held at the Longhouse in Williams Lake, BC on Monday, January 25, 2016 at 2:00 pm.