Susan M. Johnson

Susan M. Johnson, age 77, of Iron River, MI, passed away on Friday, December 4, 2020 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital. She had been fighting Stage 4 cancer since 2016, but succumbed to other issues. She was born on July 22, 1943 in Milwaukee, WI, the daughter of the late Earle and Thelma (Taalu) Raine. As a child, she spent a significant amount of time in Delaware with her late grandparents, who helped form her view of the world. Other times, she stayed in Mequon, WI, with her parents and sister. Susan attended school in Milwaukee, graduating from Shorewood High School with the Class of 1961, associating with their theater department. In the process, she attained an SAT score in the top quarter of the top one-percent with no preparatory work. She then attended the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Susan married James Johnson on June 4, 1966 at St. John’s Cathedral in Milwaukee, WI. The couple celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary this year. While at UWM, she hosted her own radio program on WUWM-FM; she introduced Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” to Milwaukee airwaves during the mid-1960s, and interviewed several 60s music icons, including “Peter, Paul, and Mary”. She was featured in the 1965 yearbook at the college. After College Susan worked at Mortgage Associates in Milwaukee designing print material, Susan later moved down to Florida, and worked as an insurance adjuster at Liberty Mutual and other agencies through the 1970s. She later moved back to Wisconsin in the 1980s and resumed her insurance career towards the end of the decade. After raising her family, she re-entered the workforce and joined U.S. Cellular Corporation, starting in customer service. She was later promoted to help desk to troubleshoot elevated issues. She worked there until 2010, and then subsequently moved up to Iron River. Susan returned to radio in 2015 as a soundboard operator for WIKB-FM, helping produce West Iron County Wykon games. In her spare time, Susan enjoyed researching her genealogy, and playing the guitar. Susan was bilingual, partially trilingual, fluent in modern French and old Middle French. She enjoyed sailing and lived on a sailboat for some years in St. Petersburg, Florida. She came from a Finnish family of tailors, and was a very accomplished seamstress, with a professional focus in theater productions and American Civil War clothing. She was an accomplished cook and historical food researcher, who frequently cooked 18th and 19th century-style meals for large audiences. She was a historian that specialized in European (12th century English/French) and American history (American Civil War). She helped organize the sesquicentennial parade – based on the return of the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment to Madison in 1864 – in Madison, Wisconsin in 1998; the event was attended by then-Governor Tommy Thompson. She was also a 25-year volunteer for the genealogy exhibit at Milwaukee Irish Fest, from the mid-1990s up until 2018. Susan was co-webmaster of the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry website, a resource for Wisconsin Civil War history and present-day reenacting information, since 1996. She was in the process of writing a historical research paper for the University of Virginia when she passed. Susan is survived her husband, James; son, Jeremy Johnson of Iron River, MI; sister, Nancy Raine of Thiensville, WI; extended family and friends. Private services will be held. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Susan M. Johnson, please visit our flower store.