Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Services Thursday for Patricia M. Groff Johnson

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Patricia M. (Groff) Johnson, of Chesterton, passed away peacefully on June 2, 2018, at the age of 89, in the company of her family.

She leaves behind her four children, Craig Wayne (Bonnie Gifford) of Portage, Gary Wayne, Jill Wayne Bucy and Dean Wayne of Chesterton, as well as her six grandchildren, Nicholas Wayne, Zachary Bucy, Bo Wayne, Drew Wayne, Danielle (Paul) Vale, and Jessica DiFiore.

She is also survived by her sister Jo Ann Marcoff, of Hobart, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Patricia was a fourth generation Chestertonian. Members of her family first came to the area from Germany in the 1850’s and settled as farmers near Burdick. Her parents were the late Felix S. Groff and Phyllis R. Wiesemann. Her grandparents were George and Jozefa (Koziarek) Groff and John P. and Elizabeth (Rosenberg) Wiesemann. Patricia was also preceded in death by her brothers Robert, Richard, Eugene, and Ronald Groff, and sisters Maxine Meade and Barbara Whitton.

Patricia, the fifth of eight children, was born in Chesterton on September 1, 1928, in her family’s home located on the corner of Second and Jefferson streets where her father owned and operated the Groff Funeral Home at the time. Growing up in a funeral home provided her with a lifetime of amusing and sometimes ghoulish tales. She was a lifelong parishioner at St. Patrick Catholic Church, and as a young girl she attended both St. Patrick School and Chesterton High School.

In 1948, Patricia married Robert A. Wayne (deceased) of Valparaiso and together they had four children.

Later, on November 28, 1970, she married Jeffery S. Johnson of Baillytown. For 45 years, he was the anchor of her life and together they created a close and cohesive family. After Pat suffered a stroke, Jeff was an especially attentive and conscientious caregiver before his own passing in 2016.

In earlier years, Pat was employed as a retail manager at the former Lowenstein’s Department Store in Valparaiso and at Lerner’s Fashion Shop in the Marquette Mall in Michigan City, two jobs she was especially fond of recalling.

We who were closest to her will probably most remember how devoted she was to her family. All of her life she sacrificed, supported and protected her children and grandchildren, usually in quiet and unassuming ways, but always in ways that made an important difference. Her house was always our home, even though we had long ago moved away. She wanted her family around her and we were happy to oblige; we always came home again. Because so many of us lived close by, she often joked that we were slowly moving in on her.

She was a great lover of the holidays and had every detail down to an aesthetic and culinary science. We’ve learned from her, but sadly, will never rise to her level of mastery. Our holidays will never quite be the same again.

During the last four years, she was severely limited by a stroke, but one of her greatest wishes was to dance again someday. Now, Nan, you can go dancing into the good night with the oldies turned up loud.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, June 7, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 638 N Calumet Rd., Chesterton, with Rev. Nate Edquist officiating.

The family will receive relatives and friends at the church from 9:00 until the time of the Mass. Graveside services will be held at St. Patrick Cemetery following the Mass.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Mitchell A. Winey Scholarship Fund through Centier Bank, 103 Broadway, Chesterton IN, 46304; the VNA Foundation, 2401 Valley Dr., Valparaiso, IN 46383; or a charity of choice.

Patricia’s family wishes to extend our deepest gratitude to the caregivers and staff at Addison Pointe Health and Rehabilitation Center in Chesterton. We thank you for all the kindness, care, concern and support you showed for our mother and grandmother. We are also grateful to the compassionate workers from Dunes Hospice who joined in to help at a very difficult time.

Arrangements were handled by Edmonds & Evans Funeral Home, 517 Broadway, Chesterton, IN 46304.

 

 

Posted 6/5/2018

 
 
 
 

 

 

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