Obit: Johnson, Carol Annette (1941 – 2019)
Transcriber:
stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Noeldner, Johnson, Nysted, Bowen, Rogers, Golembeski, Massman, Bruhn,
Turnquist, Keogh, Halfen
Source: Tribune/Record/Gleaner (Abbotsford, WI) 18 Dec 2019
Johnson, Carol Annette (21 SEP 1941 – 24 NOV 2019)
Carol Annette (Noeldner) Johnson, 78, a Loyal native, died unexpectedly on
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in Grand Rapids, Mich., of a sudden stroke. A celebration
of her life was held on Nov. 30 at Unity Church in Grand Rapids, where she was a
member for many years.
Born on Sept. 21, 1941, to Leonard and Margaret (nee Nysted) Noeldner, Carol
grew up on the family farm southwest of Loyal, the second of seven children. For
more than a decade, she was one of the singing Noeldner Sisters. After
graduating from Loyal High School in 1959, she worked at the Marshfield Music
Center and the Marshfield Clinic, played a Lowrey organ for entertainment in
local establishments, and continued to perform with her sisters, including a
trip to Nashville as finalists in the 1959 Pet Milk Grand Ole Opry Talent
Contest, recording a 45-rpm single in 1960 with budding producer Jimmy Bowen,
and promoting Roy Rogers for the State Fair in 1961. She was an organist at
Trinity Lutheran Church from eighth grade until leaving for college in 1962.
Carol married Barry Johnson in 1965 and graduated from Wisconsin State
College-Eau Claire in 1966 with a major in music. They moved to New York City
and became immersed in civil rights and the peace movement. With their two
children they relocated to Grand Rapids in 1970, and Carol began shortly after
to pursue a career as a musician. With the exception of several years in
Nashville and on the road establishing herself as a singer/songwriter in the
late 1970s, she called Grand Rapids home the rest of her life. In the 1980s,
Carol built a Music With A Message program of uplifting original songs for
children and in celebration of peace, nature, kindness, and beauty, performing
more than three decades at thousands of schools, festivals, camps, libraries,
churches, and conferences across the Midwest, the nation and beyond. She
recorded seven albums and published three songbooks. Her works have been
included in many songbooks and music programs around the world, and eight are in
the popular folk collection “Rise Up Singing.” Carol was also an accomplished
writer and poet, painter, and illustrator, finding inspiration in nature,
friendship, humor, simple things, and her rich spiritual existence.
Carol is survived by her partner of 25 years, Ed Golembeski; her son, Luke
(Tammy) Massman-Johnson; her daughter, Shalom (James) Bruhn; three
grandchildren: Zoé and Mikah Massman-Johnson and Annika Bruhn; and her six
siblings: Mary (Arlyn) Turnquist, Kristine (Andy) Keogh, Beatrice (Norm) Halfen,
Helen Noeldner, Paul (Barbara) Noeldner, and Hans (Lyn) Noeldner.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Memorials may be sent to: Save The Music (bit.ly/carol-memoriam), a national
non-profit that partners with local communities and school districts to build
sustainable music programs. Carol’s music and songbooks are still available at
http://www.caroljohnsonmusic.com/products.shtml.
A full obituary is at memorialalternatives.com/notices/Carol-Johnson.
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