Joanie Lynn Johnson

Joanie Lynn Johnson, 42, was called by God to her heavenly home where she will find much needed peace and healing.

She was talented in the performing arts.  Joanie loved to sing and to perform in the theater.  Dance was part of her university studies.  Listening to and creating music was something she truly enjoyed.  Joanie could play several musical instruments.

Joanie enjoyed volunteer work.  She volunteered in soup kitchens, with Special Olympics, Amnesty International, America Reads Challenge, Reading to homeless children, Earth First!, and others.

Joanie thrived on educational pursuits.  She gained certification in a variety of areas.  After becoming a licensed massage therapist, she attended Naropa University where she received a degree in Contemplative Psychology with concentration in Health and Healing.  This allowed her to do social work as well as be a holistic practitioner.

At age 42, she decided to continue her education for herself and for her children.  After reviewing her options, she applied to Harvard and was accepted to begin in the fall of 2020.  Because of intense cancer treatments, she had to postpone her plans, but was determined to enter Harvard in 2021 after completing her treatments.

Joanie was deeply proud of her heritage.  She enjoyed being a Cajun.  Joanie learned French in the French Immersion program.  She continued her French studies at Universite De Mons + Hainaut (Mons, Belgium) and at Campus International (Toulon, France).  Later in life, she learned about her American Indian (Choctaw) heritage.  She fully embraced this and researched it thoroughly.  She was honored and thankful to be considered for membership in the Choctaw Nation.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Troy Cormier, maternal grandparents Elizabeth Meche Perry and Heulin Vidrine, and paternal grandparents Tonis Johnson and Leona Duplechin Breaux.

Those left to cherish her memory are her children Dean and Cole Wonnacott and Lyla Dowd, her sister Tina Johnson, her parents Lloyd D. Johnson (Jo) and Shirlene Vidrine Clark (Rick), and her devoted cousin and best friend, Mary Verret Krebs.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, services will be conducted at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Calcasieu Women’s Shelter or NAMI of Southwest Louisiana, or Helping Our Women (Provincetown, MA).