Elizabeth Wohlenhaus Johanson

Elizabeth Ann Wohlenhaus Johanson, 63, died September 21st, 2015, at her home in rural Winnebago, Minnesota. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Friday, September 25th, 2015, at Jackson Lake Lutheran Church in Amboy, Minnesota with Pastor Todd Substad officiating followed by lunch at the church. Visitation will be held from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursday, September 24th, 2015, at Spencer-Owen Funeral Home in Winnebago, Minnesota as well as one hour before the church service. A public graveside service will take place at 12:00 noon on Saturday, September 26th, 2015 at the Atlantic Cemetery in Atlantic, Iowa with Pastor Clairnel Nervik officiating followed by a time of remembrance, lunch, and visitation at St. John’s United Church of Christ south of Lyman, Iowa.

Elizabeth was born on April 10th, 1952 in Atlantic, Iowa to Vernon Dietrich and Maxine Elizabeth (Retz) Wohlenhaus. She was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s United Church of Christ and she graduated from Atlantic High School in 1970. During her time in school, she was actively involved in 4-H, was a member of and served as Worthy Advisor of her local Rainbow Girls Assembly, spent a summer as a foreign exchange student in Australia, and was named Second Runner-Up in the 1970 Iowa State Fair Queen Contest. Following her graduation from high school, Elizabeth attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa where she was President of the Simpson chapter of Delta Delta Delta. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Business Administration with a minor in Education. She graduated from Simpson in 1973 and began working at Peoples Trust & Savings Bank in Indianola as a Loan Officer and Personnel Officer. In 1975 Elizabeth began taking graduate classes and received her Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wyoming in 1978. After graduating, she spent the next thirty-seven years working in the agricultural banking industry. Most recently, she was a Vice President at AXA Equitable AgriFinance where she acted as an agricultural real estate loan officer.

Elizabeth married Douglas L. Johanson on September 18th, 1982 at St. John’s United Church of Christ. During their marriage, Elizabeth and Doug farmed in Faribault County and Martin County, Minnesota and in Cass County, Iowa. Elizabeth is survived by her husband, Douglas Lee Johanson, her son, Jonathan Wohlenhaus Johanson, her daughter, Kirsten Elizabeth Johanson, her sister, Janice (Randall) Ratcliff, her mother-in-law, Dorothy Johanson, and many other relatives and friends. Elizabeth is preceded in death by her parents, Vernon and Maxine Wohlenhaus, and her father-in-law, Dr. L.V. Johanson.