‘She loved Bensenville’: Former village clerk Vera Johnson dies at 96

Remembered for her infectious smile, girlish laugh and love of Bensenville, Elvira “Vera” Johnson died last week at the age of 96.

Johnson worked in Bensenville government for over 20 years, starting as an executive secretary in 1977. She was elected village clerk/collector in 1985 and served three terms, retiring in 1997.

She was later appointed to the police and fire commission, taking over the position of her late husband Vern when he died in 2000.

Born on Jan. 30, 1928, Johnson was a fourth-generation “Bensenville-ian,” her daughter Julie Macier said.

Johnson’s great-grandfather settled in the area in 1873, the year the village was founded. In 1950, her grandmother sold 18 acres of land on Lawrence Avenue for O’Hare Airport expansion for $16,155, Macier said.

Johnson graduated from Bensenville Community High School and later married Vern Johnson in 1947.

She worked in several local businesses, including the Village Cafe in the late 1950s with Vern and her mother Amanda Schmidt. In the 1960s, she and her sister-in-law managed the office and sales for their professional photographer husbands at Magic Lantern Studios.

Johnson was also active in the community, attending and volunteering at Immanuel Church. She volunteered on the board of Churchville Cemetery on Church Road and was a Girl Scout troop leader.

She also volunteered with Friday Night Recreation for the Ray Graham Association in Lisle, a nonprofit that provides services for people with disabilities and their families. She and Vern later became the tour directors and organizers for group vacations for Ray Graham clients and their family members.

Despite working and being so involved in the community, her daughter said she was a constant presence in the lives of her four children.

“She was a big participant in our lives and her (nine) grandchildren’s lives,” Macier said, recalling numerous family vacations that involved road trips and camping around the country.

Vera and Vern loved to dance, Macier said, particularly the Polka. They were also members of a square dance club in Bensenville in the 1970s and 80s.

Vera also loved to sew, sometimes making her own clothes and costumes and toys for her kids and grandkids. In her later years, she sewed cloth covers for the cancer ports of children in a cancer-treatment center in the Pacific Northwest.

Standing just over 5 feet tall, Johnson had a diminutive laugh to match her size, Macier said.

“My son always remembers her laugh,” Macier said. “She had one of those little ‘tee-hee’ laughs, so he always knew when grandma was around.”

All the while, Johnson made lifelong friendships, including some she had known since childhood.

“People appreciated what she did and how she did it,” her daughter said. “She just had a smile that made people feel comfortable.”

A visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Geils Funeral Home, 180 South York Rd in Bensenville. A funeral service will take place 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Churchville Cemetery in Bensenville.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Alzheimer’s Association or Gentiva Hospice Oakbrook.