Mary was born on November 10, 1931, in Butte, MT, the daughter of Earnest and Mary Rule. She lived in Butte until she graduated from Butte High. She met the love of her life, Kenneth Johnston, and was united in marriage on May 3, 1953. They welcomed their first son, Randy, before moving to Denver, CO in 1954 where Kenneth was stationed for work. They welcomed their sons, Jeff, Danny, and Kenny while living in Denver before moving to Minnesota in 1961where Mary worked at the Stewart Deli sandwich factory and they welcomed their final child, a daughter, Mary. They moved from Minnesota to Great Falls, MT in 1975 before relocating to Sidney, MT in 1981 where she worked at Stai Imp and Pamida. She and Kenneth found their final home in Lambert, MT in 1996. Mary lost the love of her life in 1999 and moved to Extended Care at Sidney Health Center in 2017.
She touched many lives during her time on Earth and was known among the surrounding communities as everyone’s Grandma Mary. She loved to support and watch her grandchildren in all aspects of their lives, especially sporting events, where she was sometimes the loudest person in the stands. When she wasn’t supporting her children and grandchildren, she could be found sewing, crocheting, and hand embroidering dish towels. Everyone knew that they could ask Grandma Mary for anything, and she would help in anyway she could.
Mary was welcomed home with arms wide open on December 16, 2024, by her loving husband, Kenneth Johnston; her three sons, Jeff, Danny, and Kenny; parents, Earnest and Mary; two brothers, Albert and Bill; two grandchildren, Andrea and Kathy.
Surviving her are son Randy Johnston; daughter Mary (Jeff) Johnson; grandchildren Timmy (Sarah) Johnston, Quincy (Jessi) Johnston, Abby (Rob) Johnston, Brenda (Brian) Boettger, Cody Johnston, Ashley Johnson, Zachary (Karen) Johnson, MaKenzie (Josh) Soderling, Cameron (Cambree) Johnson, Derek Nelson, Dustin (Kayla) Nelson, Denver Nelson, Kenny Johnston; 28 great grandchildren.