Anna J. Silvester

Anna Jonina (Johnnie) was born on July 8, 1931 at the family farm, Birch Pont, Loni Beach, Manitoba to her parents Josefbina and J.B. Johnson. She was the youngest of nine children. Johnnie loved growing up on Lake Winnipeg, which was steps from her home. She swam in the summer and skated when the lake froze over in the winter. As a young woman, Johnnie worked at the Gimli fish packing building. She followed her sisters and brother to Winnipeg, where she loved her job at Eaton’s. She met her husband, Bill, at a dance on the Gimli Air Force base. After meeting Bill but before getting married, Johnnie worked for her brother John and his wife Charlotte at a veterinarian clinic in Iowa. Johnnie and Bill lived in Gimli and Greenwood, Nova Scotia at the Royal Canadian Air Force bases. They moved to Crystal Lake, Illinois for Bill’s job as a pilot with United Airlines. Johnnie made friends everywhere she went with her easy-going banter, bright smile, and infectious laugh with little snorts that made her laugh even more. She loved her children, Maureen and Brad, and always took an interest in their school work and friends. Johnnie proudly wrung her cowbell from the stands while cheering on Brad’s hockey team. In Crystal Lake, Johnnie helped her husband with the hockey club and enjoyed daily coffee with her good friend Loretta. She bowled weekly with her friend Ellie at Metro Bowl for 40+ years. Everyone loved receiving afghans knitted by Johnnie. She also loved being an Amma to her five grandchildren. She enjoyed her visits to Hawaii, Florida, California, Arizona, Spain, and especially to Winnipeg and Gimli, Manitoba and to Thunder Bay, Ontario to visit family. Johnnie moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2015 to be close to her children and grandchildren. She resided in Michigan until she passed away peacefully on June 21, 2022. She is preceded in death by her loving husband, William (Bill) Silvester, her son-in-law Gerald Knight, parents J.B. and Bina Johnson, brothers Julius Bjorn, Sigmundur (Florence), Johann (Charlotte), and Helgi (Shirley), and sisters Gudrun Stevens (Lawrence), Pauline Morse (Gerry), Laura McCarthy (Denny) and Josephine Cleghorn (Gordon). Johnnie is survived by her daughter Maureen Knight, son Brad (Laurie), and by grandchildren Zachary, Marcus (Hanna), Jessica, Ryan, and Jordan, her sister-in-law Pat Abraham (Gene), brothers-in-law Robert and Ken, and many nieces and nephews.

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Anna J. Silvester

July 8, 1931 - June 21, 2022