In Remembrance Of Absent Friends (and Family)...
Clara
Ella Harpe Johnstone
Born May 12, 1919
Passed away August 25, 2003
Clara was born in "new" Hopland (along what is now US 101) to Edna and Van Buren Harpe, both members of pioneering Hopland families. She was one of a family of ten children, attending elementary and high school in Hopland. She is survived by her husband, Harold Johnstone; her son, Lawrence Johnstone, stepchildren Harold Johnstone Jr. and Kathy Johnstone; sisters Marguerite Hetzel and Sarah Evelyn Howell, brothers Lawrence and Ernest Harpe, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Clara was a lifelong musician, both singing and playing piano, organ, accordion, trumpet and French horn. As a member of the Hopland High School band, she marched at the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1943, she enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve and became a member of the USMCWR Band, which is the only all-female band ever fielded by the Marine Corps. She was discharged shortly after the end of World War II, but retained numerous lifelong friendships from her service. She also traveled with the Hormel Girls entertainment caravan for a time.
Clara worked professionally as a secretary for many years, being employed by the Upjon Company in San Francisco both before and after her World War II service. She also worked for the Mendocino County Superintendent of Schools in Ukiah, Arrow Chevrolet in Fort Bragg, and the Susanville Consolidated Sanitary District.
She met her husband Harold Johnstone at a square dance in Boonville in 1962. They married a year later, and remained avid square dancers for many years -- right up until her stroke in 2000 made it impossible for her to continue dancing. Clara was a member of both the Ukiah Promenaders and the Square Shooters square dance clubs in the 1960s, and remained a member of the Promenaders until her passing.
Since Harold worked for the State Division of Highways, Clara and Harold moved to several different places in Northern California: Fort Bragg, Dunsmuir, Susanville, and Quincy. When Harold retired in 1988, he and Clara returned to Mendocino County, and she lived her last fifteen years in Ukiah. She joined the American Legion as a member of Post 529 in Hopland, joining several of her brothers and sisters.
She will be long remembered by her relatives and friends for her sweet and gentle nature.
Harold
Stanley Johnstone
January 28, 1923 — October 25, 2008
 Graduation photo Petaluma High School Class of 1941 |
 Dad with my brother Hal in 2005 |
Harold Stanley Johnstone passed away on Saturday, October 25 2008 at his home in Ukiah, California. He was 85 years of age. He is survived by two sons, Harold S. Johnstone Jr. of Millsap, TX, and Lawrence Johnstone of Ukiah, CA; a daughter, Katherine England of Maui, HI; a sister, Jeanne Hays of San Clemente, CA; a grandson, Jason Johnstone of Petaluma, CA, and numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.
Harold was born at home on January 28, 1923, to Henry and Mary Johnstone of Petaluma. He grew up involved with dairy farming, and was the FFA Grand Champion Showman at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma in 1939 before graduating with the Petaluma High School class of 1941. He remained involved with dairy and chicken ranching, both as a worker and as an owner, until he began working for the State Division of Highways (now CalTrans) in 1956. During that time, he met and married his first wife, Dorothy, and had two children, Harold Jr. (Hal) and Kathy. He and Dorothy later divorced.
While living in Fort Bragg, Harold met his second wife Clara Harpe at a square dance in Boonville. They married in 1963 and had a son, Lawrence, a year later. They remained married until Clara's death in 2003, and remained frequent square dancers. Their son continues this family tradition, as a regionally-recognized square dance caller.
During the course of 32 years
of employment
with the State Division of Highways / CalTrans, Harold held positions
in a number of different locations around northern California. In 1967,
he moved to Gibson in the Sacramento River canyon north of Redding,
where he remained as maintenance foreman for ten years. In 1977, he was
promoted to Assistant Superintendent and moved to Susanville. In 1987,
he was promoted to Superintendent-I at Quincy, where he retired a year
later.
Upon retirement, Harold moved to Ukiah, so that he and Clara could be
close to her family. They remained there for the remainder of their
lives. Harold remained active throughout his years, although problems
with a replaced hip limited his activities in his last few years. He
still found time to play pinochle with a group of friends three times a
week, and in fact had done so the evening just before his passing.
Harold was a member of the Ukiah Promenaders square dance club, and was also a past master of the Vitruvius Masonic Lodge in Bloomfield, CA.
Graveside services will be held at 2pm on Thursday, October 30 at the Hopland Cemetery.
Harold S. Johnstone, Jr.
(Hal)
August 8, 1949 — April 21, 2009
Hal with our father, 2005
I received word Friday, April 24, that my brother Hal
passed away on that Tuesday after a year-long battle with thymus
cancer. It happened very suddenly.
He told me at the end of the previous month that he was starting a new series
of chemotherapy treatments under the direction of a doctor in Houston,
and he expected that to be ongoing for several months. When I
talked to his wife Julia, she said that he'd just finished the first
treatment and was feeling very good, then suddenly took ill over the
weekend and had to be rushed to the hospital.
This was the third death of family or friend in as many weeks. Two weeks prior, my uncle Lawrence Harpe (who my parents named me after) passed away. Then I received notice that Lyle Croisant, husband of former Ukiah Promenaders round dance cuer Phyllis Croisant, had also passed away the prior week. And then, Hal.
Hal's obituary, as it appeared in the Press Democrat (written by his wife, Julia):
Went to join his Lord and Savior on April 21, 2009. He passed away at Baylor All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife Julia by his side. He fought a courageous battle with cancer for over a year. He was born in Petaluma on August 8, 1949 and lived in Sonoma County and worked in telecommunications industry until his retirement from Verizon in 2001. After retirement he moved to Azle, Texas and in 2007 moved to Millsap, Texas where he lived with his wife at the time of his death. He is preceded in death by his father Harold S. Johnstone, Sr. Survivors include his wife, Julia Johnstone; a son, Jason Johnstone; his mother Dotty Schuster; a brother Lawrence Johnstone; and a sister Kathy Sullivan. Hal loved life, his animals, his family, NASCAR and hot rods. At the time of his death he was completing a pro street truck. Private services will be held. Arrangements by: WHITE'S FUNERAL HOME Weatherford, TX 817-596-4811
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Hal riding at his home in Texas |
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Hal with his wife, Julia |
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Hal with a horse in front of his barn, in Texas |
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Our father with Hal (left) and our sister Kathy (right) in the 1950s. |
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Hal riding a horse with our dog Laddie in front of our house on Mitchell Creek Drive in Fort Bragg, 1960s. |
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Hal in the Army, early 1970s, just before he was sent to
Vietnam. |
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Kathy, Hal and me, mid-1970s |
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Dad with Hal and Hal's son Jason, visiting us in Susanville
at Christmas in the 1980s. (The woman is Jason's mother and Hal's
ex-wife, Penny.) |
Nate Bliss
Born November 28, 1940
Passed away November 6, 2002
It was with great shock and sorrow that I returned home that Wednesday night and found the news that my good friend Nate Bliss had passed away that afternoon. Nate was a great square dance caller, internationally known and respected. His voice can be heard on literally dozens of square dance singing call recordings, on many different labels.
He honored me by being best man at my wedding in 2001, and has been an inspiration to me in learning to call. More than that, he helped rekindle the desire to learn to fly that I've had since I was a child, and encouraged me with stories of his days in the Air Force and as a private pilot flying to calling dates and other places.
The thing I remember most about him is his sense of humor -- he could find something to chuckle at in nearly anything.
His passing will leave a great void in the square dance activity in
this area, and he will be sorely missed.
NOTE: The link will take you to a
reproduction of Nate's profile page from his website, napariver.com,
before he passed away.
| Lyle
Croisant Born June 9, 1918 Passed away April 8, 2009 |
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Phyllis Croisant Born May 5, 1922 Passed away January 22, 2003 |
Phyllis was the round dance cuer for the Ukiah Promenaders for many years. I learned round dancing from her, and worked together with her on Thursday nights after I began calling for the Promenaders in 1994. She and her husband Lyle were the heart and soul of the Promenaders for most of that time, until her illness made it impossible for her to continue cueing. Her warmth and graciousness will be missed by us all.
Lyle was a good-natured jokester and was well-liked by everyone. After Phyllis passed away, Lyle moved back to Santa Rosa, and eventually to a retirement home in Manteca to be close to his family, so we in Ukiah didn't see him much any more. I found out about his passing on the same day as my Uncle Lawrence's funeral -- a double shock.
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Sunday 2010-01-24 16:51 PST
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