Juanita (Johnnie) Foust
September 24, 1911 – August 30, 2010
Juanita (Johnnie) Foust passed away Monday, August 30, 2010 in her home on Bainbridge Island. She was just shy of her 99th birthday.
Johnnie was born in Spearfish, South Dakota on Sept. 24, 1911 to Charles and Grace Houtz. She grew up in the frontier town of Havre, Montana where her dad was the town doctor: a GP and surgeon who made house calls, delivered babies, patched up farm injuries, and cleaned out the gunshot wounds of some of Havre’s more notorious citizens. At the time, Havre was “One wild little town hard to curry.” (The Chicago Tribune)
Johnnie graduated from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota where she met her husband of fifty years, Phil Schaub from Sauk Center, Minnesota. They moved frequently during World War II as Phil taught ground school to the country’s growing crop of pilots. With their two daughters they eventually settled in Yakima where Johnnie taught in a junior high school. After earning her master’s degree in counseling she served as counselor in several schools in Yakima and later in Spokane. They retired to Port Ludlow, a gregarious community, which they enjoyed for nine years before Phil’s death in 1984.
Several years later, on a “Garden Trip Through Europe,” Johnnie met John Foust, a widower from Othello, Washington. After a year of friendship, they married. Together they enjoyed twenty happy married years traveling, enrolling in elder hostel programs, and watching birds. “He was my bonus,” Johnnie told her daughters, who continue to cherish John and his loyal, loving heart.
Johnnie was a gifted storyteller, with a sense of humor that tickled everyone right through to the end. She regaled us with tales of her life in Montana, of Havre, of the homestead ranch of her grandparents in Fort Benton, and of her escape from the great Half Moon Fire of 1929, which burned 103 acres of Glacier Park and consumed their family cabin on Lake MacDonald.
Johnnie is survived by her husband, John Foust, of Bainbridge Island and her daughters, Carol Raney (Jim) of Bainbridge Island and Joyce Liptac (Larry) of Billings, Montana.
She is survived as well by seven grandchildren, one of whom is Susan Gleason (Tim) of Bainbridge Island, and 14 great grandchildren, including Megan, Will and Cate Gleason of Bainbridge Island.
Johnnie’s family thanks the staff of Hospice of Kitsap County for making it possible for her to remain at home. We thank most particularly her new friends, Joy, Tina and that queen of care, Sabine “Merry Sunshine!” Remember, dear friends just whom you have served: as Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least mighty of these my brethren [the elderly, the sick and the dying], you have done it unto me. (Mt. 25:40.)
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 18 at 2 PM at Port Madison Lutheran Church on Bainbridge Island. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Port Madison Lutheran church or to Hospice of Kitsap County. Please sign the online Guest Book for the family at: www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.
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