Dolores Joan Johnson, 82, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, formerly of Golconda, Illinois went to be with her husband, Lou, on February 5, 2013.
Dolores was born on March 5, 1930 to Emily and John Novotny of Chicago, Illinois. She married Louis P. Johnson, and in June of this year, they would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. He passed away on January 23, 2013.
Dolores loved music; she learned piano at an early age and played violin in her high school’s concert orchestra. She enjoyed cross stitch, making beautiful needlework to mark special occasions in her family’s life. She also enjoyed reading and writing and shared stories of her Czechoslovakian traditions with family and especially with her eight grandchildren. Her favorite memories were with her family on their farm. She will be fondly remembered as a loving sister, mother and grandmother.
Her greatest gift was her courage and strength. She was one of only three women to earn her degree in law from De Paul University in 1953. In 1970, Dolores and Lou and their seven children moved to the small town of Golconda in Southern Illinois. She served as the Pope County State’s Attorney and then partnered with her husband to form, Johnson and Johnson, Attorneys-at-Law, in Metropolis, Illinois.
Dolores was an advocate for women and children, counseling many clients through divorce and custody cases and helping juveniles in their struggles. For ten years she served as the Massac County Public Defender and was known for her diligence in representing her clients.
At the age of 58, she earned her master’s degree in Counseling from Southern Illinois University and worked with Massac County Mental Health in Metropolis and later with the New Horizons Women Shelter in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Dolores was a positive role model and inspiration to her family and those she was privileged to help. She believed it was never too late to learn and find new direction in your life.
She is survived by her brother, John Novotny of Oak Lawn, Illinois; her sister, Annette Penrod of Brookfield, Illinois, and her children: Daniel, Louis, Joel, Phillip, Ellen Johnson and Christine Campbell. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Lou; her sons Christopher and Paul Johnson, and her sister, Arlene Ware of Quincy, Illinois.
The family would like to thank Dolores’ caretakers: Rita, Lynn, Karla, and Linda for their love and support.
A memorial mass is tentatively planned for June 2013 at St. Martha’s Church in Morton Grove, Illinois followed by internment on the family farm in Pope County, Illinois.
We encourage friends and colleagues to reminisce about Dolores and Lou by sending your story to: LouisPJohnson2@gmail.com
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a local women’s shelter or a children’s advocacy organization, as that would be Dolores’ wish.
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere:
I see Heaven’s glories shine,
And Faith shines equal, arming me from Fear…

There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou -Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed.
Emily Bronte