Lanie Johnson, 85
Virginia “Lanie” Johnson, 85, passed away Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, July 17, 2023, at the Lakeview Funeral Home. Friends will gather afterward at a Sandpoint restaurant to share memories. Lanie will be laid to rest in the Mt. Eden Cemetery in Hawthorne, N.Y., with her husband, Kenneth Fischman.
Lanie was born June 9, 1938, in Princeton, N.J. to Frank and Mary Johnson. She earned her master’s degree in art therapy. Lanie and Ken married in 1989 in Princeton. They lived first in New York City and then in Sandpoint.
She was an artist and highly skilled calligrapher, penning documents for the United Nations when she lived in New York. She painted watercolors and made string shopping bags to encourage others to help save the planet.
She loved the earth and its wild places. She devoted much of her time to raising awareness of the beauty of wolves, the dangers of fossil fuel dependence, and the value of the planet’s diversity of cultures and wisdom.
Lanie and Ken enjoyed traveling the United States pulling a camper. During their travels, they hosted a campground in the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness in Arizona. They also operated a fire tower in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Then they settled in Sandpoint.
Friends remember Lanie as a sensitive, strong, fun-loving, and delightfully quirky companion. Her strength was apparent as she diligently arranged for the supervised care of her sister, Mary Frances, for many years. She was devoted to the care and health of her husband. Her fun-loving side appeared in her delight at wordplay. And she cheerfully balanced a careful diet with her love of dark chocolate and almonds.
She is survived by her sister, Mary Frances of New York state; stepsons, Joshua Fischman (Huichong Chang) of Silver Spring, Md., and Benjamin Fischman (Jasmine Lee) of Rockville, Md.; two grandchildren, Roy and Mirabel of Rockville, Md.; and dozens of friends in Sandpoint and elsewhere who cherished her spirit and optimism.
Lanie was preceded in death by her parents and husband, Ken.
Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Lanie’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign her guest book.