Obituary for Martha Johns

Martha Ellen Johns

November 23, 1931 – October 8, 2023

Martha Ellen Lumm Johns, 91, our amazing mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother and friend, completed her journey here on earth, October 8, 2023, as she took the hand of Jesus and went home.

Martha was born, November 23, 1931, and raised in Griffin, Posey County, Indiana to Jesse Roscoe Sr and Irma Adrain Wilson Lumm. She had two sisters and a brother.

As a young girl, the presidential train came through the tiny town, and she got to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as he waved from the back of the caboose. She was a cheerleader in high school for the Griffin Tornadoes and was an accomplished pianist and organist. After graduating, she met and married the love of her life, PFC Lester George Johns, August 3, 1949, and lived in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Together, they have five children. Living in the oilfields, they moved around a lot. Through all the hardships of moving, they persevered. When the marriage ended, Martha moved to Rock Springs, Wyoming to be close to her oldest son. Then she moved to Richfield to be close to the majority of her children, grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren. She loved to travel to see family and friends, drive in the mountains, especially in the fall, ice cream and cooking for family and friends.

Martha is survived by 4 of her children: Christine and Jay Sorensen, Richfield; Butch and Pam Johns, Dutch John; Teresa Diefenderfer, Yuma, AZ; and David Johns (fiancee, Tina Winget), Marysvale/Prescott, AZ; 11 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

Martha is preceded in death by her son, Jesse Allen Johns; parents; sisters, Flossie (Charles) Graham, Janice (Reed) Kirkpatrick; and brother, Jesse Roscoe (Ruth) Lumm Jr.; great-granddaughter, Elisabeth; and son-in-law, James “Jim” Diefenderfer; parents-in-law, Victor George and Velma Alverda Hendricks Johnson; 3 sisters-in-law and 4 brothers-in-law.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. in the Magleby Mortuary, 50 South 100 West, Richfield. Funeral Directors: Magleby Mortuary, Richfield, Salina and Manti. Online guestbook at www.maglebymortuary.com

Graveside services and interment will be at the Blackwell Cemetery in Blackwell, Oklahoma on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. under the direction of Roberts and Son Funeral Home.

Anyone attending the service is asked to bring their favorite flower for Martha (real or artificial).