Jane Bovard Johnson

Barbara Jane Bovard Johnson was born April 19, 1928 in Maryville, Missouri. She died October 10, 2015 after a brief illness.

She was the daughter of the late Oliver Kurby Bovard and Esther Mary Shoemaker Bovard. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank J. Johnson; brother, Kurby Bovard; and sister, Maryann Burch. She is survived by daughter Susan Johnson of Florence; son, Jeff and wife Dru, also of Florence; and granddaughters Rachel and Claire; daughter, Nancy Palumbo and husband Peter of Pickering, Ontario, Canada; and grandsons, Lucas and Alex. Surviving family members also include sisters-in-law, Helen Ackerman and Klaire Medeiros and husband, John; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jane graduated from Maryville High School in 1946 where she was the co-salutatorian of her class. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwest Missouri State University where she was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and chosen to appear in the 1950 edition of Who''s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Following college she worked briefly in the college library.

She had a life-long love of music learning to play both the violin and piano and singing in numerous choral groups. She founded the Florence Mothersingers and was active in the Florence Summer Music Theater for many years.

Jane was also active in her church, Westminster Presbyterian, where she served as church librarian for 35 years, sang in the church choir for over 40 years, and served on committees too numerous to mention.

Like her late husband, she was a long time devoted fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Her other interests included gardening, reading, travel, and working on various arts and crafts projects.

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 16, 2015. Visitation will be at the church from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Interment will be at Tri-Cities Memory Gardens after the memorial service.

Donations may be made to the Choir Scholarship Fund at Westminster Presbyterian Church.