Delores P. Johnson, age 90, of Grinnell died on September 5, 2026, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell. 

Per her request, no services will be held. Private family burial will be at Hazelwood Cemetery. 

Delores was born on January 28, 1936, on a farm in rural Butler County near Rising City, Nebraska. She was the daughter of Oliver Leroy Lawthers and Mary Marie Williams Lawthers.

In 1941, her family moved to Iowa, first to a farm near what’s now Rock Creek Lake, then to a farm northeast of Grinnell. There, Delores grew up helping with farm work: riding her pony Champion to bring cows in for milking, helping her mother milk and gather eggs, making supper while her parents did field work, and handling the farm’s accounting.

She graduated from Grinnell High School in 1953 and set aside her dream of becoming a teacher so she could continue helping her parents with the farm. Her first and only job outside the home was with General Telephone Company in Grinnell, where she worked from 1953 to 1955 as a local and long-distance operator and assistant supervisor in the days when all calls went through operators.

On October 15, 1955, she married the love of her life, Robert “Bobbie” Johnson, in a union marked by deep love and devotion. They made their home in Grinnell and raised three children. In her own words, she was “fortunate to get to be a stay-at-home mom.” She was active in school-related activities, served as Davis School PTA President, and often devised creative projects at home that made learning enlightening, exciting and fun for her kids.

A master seamstress, she made many bridal dreams come true through beautifully tailored custom wedding and bridesmaid dresses. She belonged to the Women’s Fellowship Group at the United Methodist Church and, by mayoral appointment, served for several years on the Grinnell City Planning and Zoning committee.

Without doubt, her happiest times were those spent with Bob at her side. They loved the outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing and gardening together. (She once shot a 28-pound trophy turkey.) For many years, they were regulars on the Iowa Saddle Club circuit and later raised Quarter Horses on their acreage at the south end of Broad Street.

After Bob’s early retirement from Donaldson Manufacturing Company in 1983, they traveled extensively. Later, they discovered a love of dancing to country music and won several dance contests. Until Bob’s passing in 2020, they were nearly inseparable, sharing a devotion to each other and to family that ran through all they did.

Delores is survived by her three children, Dan (Mary) Johnson of Hallsville, Missouri; Gary Johnson of St. George, Utah; and Jolene (Steve) Hansen of Winterset, Iowa; four grandchildren, Aaron, Amy, Erin and Mark; two great-grandchildren, Raymond and Kalen, and her sister-in-law, Patricia Johnson, who helped fill her final years with companionship and fun. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob, her parents, and her brother, Robert Lawthers.