Evelyn Ann Carson Johnson – 1933-2017 

Evelyn Ann Carson was born 12/05/1933 in Fairmont, Minnesota to William H Carson &  Anna Rettke Carson.  She had 5 siblings:  Don Carson, deceased; Burrell Carson, deceased;  Morris (Morrie) Carson, deceased; Jerry Carson, deceased and Muriam Carson Favrow, living in California.

Evelyn’s medical history was a picture of a woman who was not going to let something like a fractured femur, cancer, a car crash or a heart attack or two get in the way of her life. She just pressed on!  This last event found her in Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She was surrounded by family and friends and was cared for by awesome nurses.They told us if we needed anything to just ask. Before we turned around there was a dog named Charli, on duty to share her bed, followed by a harpist who played wonderful music.  Brave to the end, she charted her course as decisions were made. We cannot describe how wonderful her care was and what it meant to all of us to have her in such caring hands, we are forever grateful to them all!

Evelyn attended grade school in Minnesota and completed her freshman year in Gold Hill, OR.,  Sophomore and Junior years were in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  In 1951 Evelyn moved back to Minnesota and finished her high school in LeSueur, Minnesota where she graduated.   Continuing her education she attended Abbott Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she graduated in September, 1954 and received her first nursing license.

In August, 1955 she moved to California,  where she began working as a registered nurse at various hospitals while working on her bachelors degree.  On December 16, 1955, Evelyn was married to Eugene “Gene ” Johnson, deceased. They were the proud parents of Scott Johnson of Vancouver, Wa  and Deanne Johnson-Gray of Oregon City, OR.

In Sylmar, California, February 1971, Californians were jolted with a 6.6 Earthquake!  Evelyn was the Hospital Nursing Supervisor at Granada Hills Community Hospital.  In her true style, Evelyn managed the chaos during this disaster!  She coordinated staff, patients, beds, supplies (the days of glass IV bottles!) and the list goes on…..

Evelyn migrated to Oregon and began holding several nursing positions in several cities. In Madras she was the Director of Nursing, in McMinnville she was a manager and in (1985) she was hired into the Kaiser Permanente system where she worked until retirement. She held many positions where she was a leader and respected by all. Her shifts as supervisor were legend.  In days before fit bits, she walked miles throughout the hospital, then did it again! In critical situations, she kept searching until she came up with a solution. She was noted to be “a Nurses’ nurse and a supervisor who was always fair” at a recent function where people learned of her death. They talked of her hiring them and telling them that she was lucky to have them. Evelyn retired when Bess Kaiser closed, but then was rehired at Sunnyside for a “short” replacement and ended up working long enough for a second retirement! Her standards were high, most of all, for herself!

Evelyn had many friends, collected from all the positions she held. They can tell the stories of her nursing standards and her fun-loving personality.  She loved to garden, and became a Master Gardner, she also was passionate about sewing and quilting and loved helping a dear friend open a quilting store! She had a great eye for helping the new quilters learn and succeed. She traveled the world and in the United States. She was always out there ahead of us capturing the essence of a city.   And we mustn’t forget her cooking!  She was an excellent, adventurous cook.  She loved cooking elaborate meals and serving them on holiday appropriate China.      Holiday!!!  Did we mention…..Evie loved Christmas!!  Her house was a vision to behold children and adults loved her various themed rooms! She cherished seeing the smiles on faces as they came into a new wonder-filled room.

When Bess Kaiser was closing she became a member of a group of 8 nurses who did not want to lose track of each other. That group called themselves BBK, Beyond Bess Kaiser and have held monthly dinners, semi-annual retreats to beach, desert and Arizona when the rains become intolerable. 22 years of friendship, cooking together, quilting, world traveling, laughter, games and genuine family bonds.  This group has gone through much of life together; moves, new homes, births of grandchildren, marriages, divorces, deaths of family members. surgeries, illnesses, and now, we face this.         We will forever hold onto the many memories of our dear friend and to each other!