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A scholarship is being established to honor a Bartian who had a passion for community theater.

Marilyn White Johnson passed away at the age of 93 on Monday, May 30 in her beloved mountain home and birthplace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Johnson's heart was also in Bartlesville.

Johnson was the third child born to Neil and Valerie White on July 22, 1928. Educated in Salt Lake City, she graduated from East High School in 1945 and received her BS in Home Economics from the University of Utah in 1950. She was the first member of her family to receive a college degree. She was a proud member of the Beta Gamma Chapter of Delta Gamma Sorority. She married Marvin Johnson on May 8, 1951 in the Salt Lake LDS temple. Their married life took them to Livermore, California, Salt Lake City, and finally Bartlesville, Oklahoma where they put down deep roots and raised their family.

Johnson was an exquisite seamstress, an accomplished writer, stage actress and a most excellent home maker. She lovingly made the wedding dresses for her three daughters and many granddaughters. She also completed intricate birth announcement cross stitch kits for all 38 great grandchildren and was working on one up until the day before she passed away.

A love of home and family values were passed on from Johnson to her children. Sunday dinners were a sacred family tradition and continue in the homes of her posterity. Her family and community benefited from her appreciation and willingness to share her love for decorum, culture, and hospitality. People knew they were welcome in the Johnson Home as they hosted friends of all ages.

Faith was a must for Johnson, who served twice as the President of the Relief Society of the LDS women’s auxiliary and president of the Primary Children’s Organization. At the age of 89, Johnson served as the secretary to the Young Women’s Youth Organization. She loved life and was joyfully engaged in the lives of her children and grandchildren who adored her. Her children appreciated her fun loving spirit who was always willing to throw a party, even if it meant she was making waffles at midnight for her son’s high school buddies.

Johnson found a home at Theater Bartlesville as well as she shyly auditioned for Bartlesville’s Little Theater Music Man in 1966 and was chosen for a “pick-a-little-talk-a -little” lady. The hook was set…5 musicals and many many plays later she became a petrified (as in cast in stone) member of theater activities. She wrote and directed Mausoleum Stories for the White Rose Cemetery for many years making it a successful production. She served on the Theater Bartlesville board of directors, past president of Harlequins (a former theater auxiliary), wrote and directed Windsong From the Prairie in 1997, which included a cast and crew of at least 100, with live horses, a stagecoach and a controlled prairie fire in the Osage! Her most satisfying role and crowning jewel in her theatrical crown was her leading role in The Trip to Bountiful in 2013 directed by Joe Sears. She was 85 and was intimidated about her ability to memorize lines but she pulled off a stellar performance and sold out the house. She continued to advise the Theater Board in an unofficial capacity following her stage retirement. However, she never really stopped performing for her admiring family, friends, and fans.

Thus, a scholarship in Marilyn Johnson's memory is being established at Theater Bartlesville. Contributions for the scholarship may be sent to Theater Bartlesville, 312 Dewey Avenue, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 74003. You can make contributions online as well at theaterbartlesville.com.

Johnson was preceded in death by her parents, and her husband, Marvin, a brother Robert Neil White and sister Jenalyn Fox. She is survived by sister Claudia White Ellett of Murray, UT, son Mark Alan Johnson (Barbara) of Salt Lake City, Utah; daughters Jennifer Hanseen (Ross) of Salt Lake City, UT, Lorelie Ahlert (Jeffrey) of Bartlesville, OK and Marianne (Mark) of Denham Springs, LA, 21 Grandchildren and 39 Great-grandchildren.

Johnson will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband Marvin in Bartlesville. There will be a viewing on Friday June 10, 2022 at Arnold Moore Neekamp Funeral Home at 710 S. Dewey Avenue, and family will receive visitors from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday June 11, 2022 at 11:00am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1501 Swan Drive.

Information and photos courtesy of Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home