Bernice Nadene Glenn Johnson, 96, passed away on November 29, 2013 in Sedro-Woolley, WA.

   Widely known by her childhood nickname, “Bubs”, and her adult nickname, “Bee”, she was born on February 10, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas.  Her mother moved her to Bellingham, Washington in 1918 to be closer to their family in British Columbia.  Bee’s grandfather, Pete Bromley, was an early settler in the Keremeos region of British Columbia. Bee graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1934; the school was destroyed by fire in 1935 but she remained true to her school and was a Life member of the Fairhaven High School Alumni Association.

   She attended Western Washington University (then Washington State Normal School) during the 1930’s but withdrew to work during the Great Depression.  She enjoyed adventures with her childhood friends, including Margaret Shaw Smith and Virginia Mercer Gill, and lived as a boarder in Bellingham with Jerry and Mary Paolergio whom she considered to be like family.  She was an accomplished pianist and also sang in a Gay Nineties Quartet that was highly regarded in Bellingham.

   After WWII, she was at a local gathering place in Bellingham when she met Melvin Edward Johnson, having just returned from his wartime tour of duty in North Africa.  This was a chance meeting; Mel was from North Dakota but had enlisted in the Army in the State of Washington, as he had come west to visit his brother, Oscar, who settled in Skagit County.  Mel and Bee married on November 9, 1946 and were married until his death on February 18, 1994.  Their only child, Judy, was born in 1952.

   They lived in Mount Vernon (Casa Grande apartments), Bellingham, Burlington, and Wenatchee before purchasing the historic Catherine Barney home in Sedro-Woolley in November 1954.  They operated the building as an apartment house, as it had been converted from a boarding house to apartments during WWII to house local workers in the steel industry.  She hosted friends and family every year on the Fourth of July, as Sedro-Woolley’s Loggerodeo Parade passed by on Ferry Street.

      Mel and Bee were both employed at Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley; she as a secretary/bookkeeper and he in the Plant Maintenance department.   During the 1950’s she also served as secretary at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Sedro-Woolley.  Then, in the late 1950’s Howard Rothenbuhler hired her as his secretary/bookkeeper for Rothenbuhler Engineering.  She worked there until the late 1960’s when she was hired as a secretary for Johnson Realty in Mount Vernon.  She enjoyed the real estate industry and went on to acquire a sales agent’s license and a real estate broker’s license, scoring 100% on the exams.  She worked for Ovenell Realty in Burlington and Skagit Realty in Sedro-Woolley (as designated broker) until she retired in 1992 at the age of 75.  She often said that her favorite thing about being a Realtor® was matching up people with the right house.

   Bee became a Soroptimist in 1971 when Judy went away to college.  Four years later she became president of Soroptimist International of Sedro-Woolley.  She is credited with the inspiration to create The Walnut Tree thrift shop, operated by the Soroptimist Club, in 1975.  The shop is currently in business on Puget Street in Sedro-Woolley, in its fourth location, and the Club owns the building, largely as a product of Bee’s expertise in real estate.         

   She also partnered the Club with other local citizens and organizations who wanted to build a Community Center in Sedro-Woolley.  Under Bee’s leadership, Soroptimists made the initial donation of $6000 to the building fund in February 1976.  After a successful fundraising campaign, the project broke ground on July 7, 1976 (the Bicentennial Year) and the building was completed and ready for use in December.

   Bee achieved Life Member status in Soroptimist, a special category of membership reserved for those who make significant contributions to their clubs and communities. She was a 50+ year member of Cyrene Chapter 110, Order of the Eastern Star, a member of Daughters of the Nile, Hatasu Temple No. 1 since 1974, and a member since 1951 of the American Legion Auxiliary.

   She served on the City of Sedro-Woolley’s Planning Commission from 1983 to 1995.

Bee was a member of Bellingham’s Garden Street Methodist Church in childhood, but later joined Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Sedro-Woolley and was a 50+ year member. 

   She was a Camp Fire Leader in Sedro-Woolley and volunteered on Council-Level committees for Samish Council of Camp Fire.  She was a lifelong lover of good music, and enjoyed many evenings of piano duets with Ginger Thompson and many discussions about music with John Caper.

   In retirement, Bee was able to travel, visiting China, Australia, and countries in Africa and Europe. 

   She believed in God, music, reading, and genteel manners.  She was a member of the Greatest Generation and learned to work hard and “make do”.  She loved animals and had many pets, including cats, but described herself as a “dog person”.  She was a multi-gallon blood donor and helped to organize blood drives with her friend, Gertrude Sawyer. She had no brothers or sisters but was well-loved by her husband’s siblings, nieces and nephews. 

   Bee was preceded in death by her mother, Ethel Janet Bromley Glenn (1951), father William Alexander Glenn, step-father Clarence A. Leach, and her husband, Melvin.  She is survived by her daughter Judy Johnson of Sedro-Woolley, her cats Suchi and Princess, and a legion of long-time friends. 

   In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Saving Pets One at a Time (SPOT), Skagit County Humane Shelter, Sedro-Woolley Museum, Soroptimist Modine Endowment Fund, Fairhaven High School Alumni Association, Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, or a favorite charity.

   A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 11:00 A.M. at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Sedro-Woolley.