In Memory of Julie Anne Johnson December 23, 1970 August 12, 1992

Thank you for visiting this "Memorial Page" for my daughter, Julie Anne Johnson. It is a way of remembering Julie, and if we remember, maybe Julie will live on a bit longer. It is also a reminder that life is short and so very fragile.

I'll Lend You a Child To Julie from Jackie 1993 Memories 1994 Memories 1995 Memories 1996 Memories

Julie was a wonderful child, and grew into a beautiful woman, who excelled in everything she took to do. She was reading first grade books from the library at age four. Even in Kindergarten, she would be the first to finish her lessons, and as her teacher expressed, "she let Julie help the other students, for the survival of the class." She was always on the honor roll, winning awards from Spelling Bees to a trip to Chicago for competition in Office Occupations. She was a cheerleader for several years, and won several achievement awards and a college scholarship from Business Professionals of America. She surely would have gone on to do great things. It seems a waste that her life was cut so short, due to an automobile accident at age twenty-one. I'm sure I will never understand the "why." I saw the tears and felt the sorrow of men, women and children as their hearts ached for us at times when we had no more tears to give. A quartet of young boys sang "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" at the gravesite. And the six beautiful young girls, who should now be helping her celebrate the joys of marriage and children, were the pallbearers at her funeral. Because of these young people, our last goodbyes to Julie were made sweet instead of bitter. Julie is sadly missed by those who loved her, and by those whose life she touched in her short time on this earth. Her death was devastating to my life. After several months of withdrawal and depression, and finally realizing that God was not going to let me die, I got off the couch and went to the computer. Without the getting lost in the compilation of my books, "Pope County Illinois Herald-Enterprise Newspaper Abstracts, Volume I and II and III," I may not have survived her death. Designing this page for Julie has been heart-breaking for me, stirring memories I've kept down deep. My birthday is August 11th. On that fateful day in 1992, Julie baked me a cake, gave my my present, and went out to spend time with friends. I never saw her alive again. She was my Christmas present in 1970, being born on December 23, I brought her home in a big red stocking on Christmas Day. Birthdays and Christmases have not been joyous occasions for me since her death.

I thank you for allowing me to come into your hearts with my memories of Julie.

Bonnie (Barton) Johnson Skaggs