Joan ‘Jodie’ Truhlsen Johns

Joan “Jodie” Truhlsen Johns, nearly 96, died peacefully in her home on July 6, 2024, of natural causes. Born on August 13, 1928, in Herman, Nebraska to Lola Marshall Truhlsen and Henry “Spike” Truhlsen, Jodie lived a life marked by kindness, intelligent curiosity, and an unwavering dedication to her family and every community in which she lived.

Jodie graduated from Herman High School in 1944 and Nebraska University in 1949 in Education. She was in the Chi Omega fraternity and met and married her sweetheart, Max Johns, a Delta Tau Delta fraternity boy from Long Pine, NE. While there, she also had the experience of being a part of a charity auction. She and her sorority sisters were ‘auctioned off’ for typing, cleaning, odd jobs, etc., by a fellow student, whom most people now recognize, Johnny Carson, of North Platte, NE. Her love of Nebraska University was evident in her lifelong support of the Nebraska Cornhusker football team. She rarely missed a game on radio, tv or in the stadium, and cheered as loudly as anyone.

Jodie and Max were married 63 years. They spent a few years in Chicago while Max attended optometry school and she taught elementary school. They then moved to Beatrice where she taught elementary school. In 1952, they moved to Charles City, Iowa where she dedicated herself to raising their family. A woman ahead of her time, in the late 1970s, Jodie returned to school and earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Northern Iowa while in her fifties and found fulfillment as a social worker in a skilled nursing facility in Charles City.

Jodie’s leadership and community involvement in Charles City were extensive and impactful. She served for decades in many leadership positions, including the Board of Trustees at the First Congregational Church. She was a Girl Scout leader, a member of the Art Association, the Arts Council Board, the Charles City Improvement Association, and was a PEO officer for seven years. She was also a member of the Women Investors and Social Sciences, an AAUW member for 30 years, and later, a member of the Women’s Appointment Coalition and the Network of Women.

Jodie’s commitment to mental health was significant. She served as the Substance Abuse Council Chairwoman from 1978 to 1984. She was on the Chemical Dependency Services Board, serving as president and vice president at the Prairie Ridge Treatment Center from 1980 to 1997, in Mason City, IA. Additionally, she was President of the Floyd County Mental Health Advisory Board from 1980 to 1986. Her exceptional contributions to the community were recognized many times through the years, but culminated with the Charles City, Iowa Woman of the Year Award in 1991.

Jodie’s contributions to the arts and women’s leadership were notable. Jodie was an accomplished artist studying under Arthur Frick, a well-known Iowa artist. She painted by commission and was invited to show her art at many shows. She was president of the Art Studio in Oro Valley, AZ and was an American Women in the Arts member. She crafted beautiful needlework for her family and local hospital preemie units.

A voracious reader who traveled the world with an insatiable curiosity and a sense of adventure, Jodie used her knowledge and experiences during retirement by participating in a creative writing and poetry club in Oro Valley, AZ. After moving to Omaha’s Arboretum Village, she started a monthly writer’s club and Scrabble group. She also worked on the Residential Advisory Committee of Arboretum Village, serving as President for two terms.

Jodie was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Max Johns; parents, Spike and Lola Truhlsen; brother, Stanley Truhlsen; sister, Marion Holmes; grandson, Max Rose; and nephew, Stanley Truhlsen, Jr. She is survived by her children Vicky Vandervort (Robert), Gayle Rose (Stephen Bickel), and J. Douglas Johns; her grandsons, Morgan Rose (fiancé Doreen Ghafari), Michael Vandervort, and Michael Rose; her step-grandchildren, Matthew Rose and Gabrielle Rose; her four step-great-grandchildren, and her many treasured nieces and nephews.

Jodie’s warm, humble nature and willingness to work hard in every endeavor inspired others to do so as well. This made her beloved to those who knew her. Her sense of humor and kindness left a lasting impression on everyone she met.

Her family invites everyone to celebrate Jodie’s remarkable life and legacy. She will be deeply missed and forever cherished. A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church in Omaha, NE on August 13, 2023 at 11:00 am, followed by a light lunch.

Memorial suggestions:

Munroe-Meyer Institute Adult Recreational Therapy Department, 985450 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5450

https://nufoundation.org/fund/01079150

Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, Team Max, P.O. Box 1000 Memphis, TN 38148-0078

www.cfgm.org/TeamMax

Open Door Mission, PO Box 8340 Omaha NE 68108-0340

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