Published Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Mary Lee Prunty Johnston, 82, of Columbia passed away Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, at Lenoir Health Care Center.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at Calvary Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Fred Thayer officiating.
Mary Lee's grand parents were Alonzo Leonard and Vinettia Mounce Prunty.
Mary Lee was born April 30, 1922, in Tulsa, Okla., to Merle C. Prunty and Grace E. Moulton. She came from a family of six children, which included two sets of twins. Prunty was superintendent of schools in Tulsa. He accepted a position as dean of students at Stephens College in 1934 and moved his family to Columbia.
Mary Lee graduated from University High School and later graduated from Stephens College with an associate's degree. She then attended the University of Missouri, graduating at the top of her class with a bachelor's degree in business administration before joining IBM as a systems engineer in 1942.
She married Lennie P. Johnston in 1944 in Columbia and moved to New Jersey, where she pursued early childhood development at Rutgers University. She and Lennie returned to Columbia in 1951. After all four of her children were enrolled in public school, she launched her career in childcare.
In 1959, she accepted a position as director of Community Nursery School, a United Way Agency. This was her passion for 40 years. During her tenure, she led the expansion of the operations from one location on Ripley Street to include a new children's center at Hinkson Avenue, as well as an Infant Toddler Center next door. She tirelessly led all program administration and fund-raising activities. She retired from the Community Nursery School in 1999.
She also served a number of organizations, including the Board of Curators of Stephens College, Stephens Alumni Association as president, the Constance Emig Circle of King's Daughters and Women's Network and was a charter member of the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center advisory board.
Her hobbies included swimming, crossword puzzles, long nature walks, reading, singing in the church choir, traveling to Lake of the Ozarks and taking her grandchildren to Hinkson Creek to look for frogs.
Survivors include her sisters, Elouise Knowlton of Queenstown, Md., and Roma Jo Huff of Pittsburgh; her children, Mary Lynn Benson of Leawood, Kan., Randall B. Johnston of Columbia, Grace J. Elder of Columbia and Philip D. Johnston of Alamo, Calif.; and her grandchildren, Wesley D. Benson, Lauren M. Benson, Shan C. Rich, Patricia A. Johnston, Nicholas F. Johnston, Christopher D. Johnston, Natalie G. Johnston and Jillian J. Elder; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband; two brothers, Merle Charles Prunty Jr., and twin brother Lon Moulton Prunty; and her sister, Virginia G. "Sugar" Jamieson.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Mary Lee Johnston Scholarship Fund of the Community Nursery School, 1605 Hinkson Ave., Columbia, Mo., 65201 or to Calvary Episcopal Church, 123 S. Ninth St., Columbia, Mo., 65201.
Mary Lee Prunty Johnston, 82, of Columbia passed away Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, at Lenoir Health Care Center.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at Calvary Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Fred Thayer officiating.
Mary Lee's grand parents were Alonzo Leonard and Vinettia Mounce Prunty.
Mary Lee was born April 30, 1922, in Tulsa, Okla., to Merle C. Prunty and Grace E. Moulton. She came from a family of six children, which included two sets of twins. Prunty was superintendent of schools in Tulsa. He accepted a position as dean of students at Stephens College in 1934 and moved his family to Columbia.
Mary Lee graduated from University High School and later graduated from Stephens College with an associate's degree. She then attended the University of Missouri, graduating at the top of her class with a bachelor's degree in business administration before joining IBM as a systems engineer in 1942.
She married Lennie P. Johnston in 1944 in Columbia and moved to New Jersey, where she pursued early childhood development at Rutgers University. She and Lennie returned to Columbia in 1951. After all four of her children were enrolled in public school, she launched her career in childcare.
In 1959, she accepted a position as director of Community Nursery School, a United Way Agency. This was her passion for 40 years. During her tenure, she led the expansion of the operations from one location on Ripley Street to include a new children's center at Hinkson Avenue, as well as an Infant Toddler Center next door. She tirelessly led all program administration and fund-raising activities. She retired from the Community Nursery School in 1999.
She also served a number of organizations, including the Board of Curators of Stephens College, Stephens Alumni Association as president, the Constance Emig Circle of King's Daughters and Women's Network and was a charter member of the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center advisory board.
Her hobbies included swimming, crossword puzzles, long nature walks, reading, singing in the church choir, traveling to Lake of the Ozarks and taking her grandchildren to Hinkson Creek to look for frogs.
Survivors include her sisters, Elouise Knowlton of Queenstown, Md., and Roma Jo Huff of Pittsburgh; her children, Mary Lynn Benson of Leawood, Kan., Randall B. Johnston of Columbia, Grace J. Elder of Columbia and Philip D. Johnston of Alamo, Calif.; and her grandchildren, Wesley D. Benson, Lauren M. Benson, Shan C. Rich, Patricia A. Johnston, Nicholas F. Johnston, Christopher D. Johnston, Natalie G. Johnston and Jillian J. Elder; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband; two brothers, Merle Charles Prunty Jr., and twin brother Lon Moulton Prunty; and her sister, Virginia G. "Sugar" Jamieson.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Mary Lee Johnston Scholarship Fund of the Community Nursery School, 1605 Hinkson Ave., Columbia, Mo., 65201 or to Calvary Episcopal Church, 123 S. Ninth St., Columbia, Mo., 65201.
Published Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Mary Lee Prunty Johnston, 82, of Columbia passed away Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, at Lenoir Health Care Center.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at Calvary Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Fred Thayer officiating.
Mary Lee's grand parents were Alonzo Leonard and Vinettia Mounce Prunty.
Mary Lee was born April 30, 1922, in Tulsa, Okla., to Merle C. Prunty and Grace E. Moulton. She came from a family of six children, which included two sets of twins. Prunty was superintendent of schools in Tulsa. He accepted a position as dean of students at Stephens College in 1934 and moved his family to Columbia.
Mary Lee graduated from University High School and later graduated from Stephens College with an associate's degree. She then attended the University of Missouri, graduating at the top of her class with a bachelor's degree in business administration before joining IBM as a systems engineer in 1942.
She married Lennie P. Johnston in 1944 in Columbia and moved to New Jersey, where she pursued early childhood development at Rutgers University. She and Lennie returned to Columbia in 1951. After all four of her children were enrolled in public school, she launched her career in childcare.
In 1959, she accepted a position as director of Community Nursery School, a United Way Agency. This was her passion for 40 years. During her tenure, she led the expansion of the operations from one location on Ripley Street to include a new children's center at Hinkson Avenue, as well as an Infant Toddler Center next door. She tirelessly led all program administration and fund-raising activities. She retired from the Community Nursery School in 1999.
She also served a number of organizations, including the Board of Curators of Stephens College, Stephens Alumni Association as president, the Constance Emig Circle of King's Daughters and Women's Network and was a charter member of the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center advisory board.
Her hobbies included swimming, crossword puzzles, long nature walks, reading, singing in the church choir, traveling to Lake of the Ozarks and taking her grandchildren to Hinkson Creek to look for frogs.
Survivors include her sisters, Elouise Knowlton of Queenstown, Md., and Roma Jo Huff of Pittsburgh; her children, Mary Lynn Benson of Leawood, Kan., Randall B. Johnston of Columbia, Grace J. Elder of Columbia and Philip D. Johnston of Alamo, Calif.; and her grandchildren, Wesley D. Benson, Lauren M. Benson, Shan C. Rich, Patricia A. Johnston, Nicholas F. Johnston, Christopher D. Johnston, Natalie G. Johnston and Jillian J. Elder; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband; two brothers, Merle Charles Prunty Jr., and twin brother Lon Moulton Prunty; and her sister, Virginia G. "Sugar" Jamieson.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Mary Lee Johnston Scholarship Fund of the Community Nursery School, 1605 Hinkson Ave., Columbia, Mo., 65201 or to Calvary Episcopal Church, 123 S. Ninth St., Columbia, Mo., 65201.
Mary Lee Prunty Johnston, 82, of Columbia passed away Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, at Lenoir Health Care Center.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at Calvary Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Fred Thayer officiating.
Mary Lee's grand parents were Alonzo Leonard and Vinettia Mounce Prunty.
Mary Lee was born April 30, 1922, in Tulsa, Okla., to Merle C. Prunty and Grace E. Moulton. She came from a family of six children, which included two sets of twins. Prunty was superintendent of schools in Tulsa. He accepted a position as dean of students at Stephens College in 1934 and moved his family to Columbia.
Mary Lee graduated from University High School and later graduated from Stephens College with an associate's degree. She then attended the University of Missouri, graduating at the top of her class with a bachelor's degree in business administration before joining IBM as a systems engineer in 1942.
She married Lennie P. Johnston in 1944 in Columbia and moved to New Jersey, where she pursued early childhood development at Rutgers University. She and Lennie returned to Columbia in 1951. After all four of her children were enrolled in public school, she launched her career in childcare.
In 1959, she accepted a position as director of Community Nursery School, a United Way Agency. This was her passion for 40 years. During her tenure, she led the expansion of the operations from one location on Ripley Street to include a new children's center at Hinkson Avenue, as well as an Infant Toddler Center next door. She tirelessly led all program administration and fund-raising activities. She retired from the Community Nursery School in 1999.
She also served a number of organizations, including the Board of Curators of Stephens College, Stephens Alumni Association as president, the Constance Emig Circle of King's Daughters and Women's Network and was a charter member of the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center advisory board.
Her hobbies included swimming, crossword puzzles, long nature walks, reading, singing in the church choir, traveling to Lake of the Ozarks and taking her grandchildren to Hinkson Creek to look for frogs.
Survivors include her sisters, Elouise Knowlton of Queenstown, Md., and Roma Jo Huff of Pittsburgh; her children, Mary Lynn Benson of Leawood, Kan., Randall B. Johnston of Columbia, Grace J. Elder of Columbia and Philip D. Johnston of Alamo, Calif.; and her grandchildren, Wesley D. Benson, Lauren M. Benson, Shan C. Rich, Patricia A. Johnston, Nicholas F. Johnston, Christopher D. Johnston, Natalie G. Johnston and Jillian J. Elder; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband; two brothers, Merle Charles Prunty Jr., and twin brother Lon Moulton Prunty; and her sister, Virginia G. "Sugar" Jamieson.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Mary Lee Johnston Scholarship Fund of the Community Nursery School, 1605 Hinkson Ave., Columbia, Mo., 65201 or to Calvary Episcopal Church, 123 S. Ninth St., Columbia, Mo., 65201.
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