JOSHUA BREWNER JOHNSTON

JOSHUA BREWNER JOHNSTON WAS BORN IN LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, APRIL 15, 1866, AND DIED AT HIS HOME IN UNION TOWNSHIP, RINGGOLD COUNTY, IOWA MARCH 7, 1924, AGED 57 YEARS, TEN MONTHS AND 22DDAYS.  WHEN HE WAS FOUR YEARS OLD HE, WITH HIS PARENTS, CAME TO RINGGOLD COUNTY AND FOR FIFTY-THREE YEARS RINGGOLD COUNTY HAS BEEN HIS HOME.  HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE WITH FLORA LANDRETH ON FEBRUARY 28, 1890.  TO THIS UNION ONE CHILD, VERA LUCY WAS BORN.  MR. JOHNSTON WAS A MAN OF STERLING CHARACTER, FINE SPIRITED AND PROGRESSIVE, EVER TAKING A DEEP INTEREST IN THINGS WHICH MEANT ADVANCEMENT AND PROGRESS IN THE COMMUNITY.  HE SERVED AS A TRUSTEE OF THE METHODIST CHURCH FOR TEN YEARS AND NONE WAS MORE FAITHFUL IN ATTENDANCE AT ITS SERVICES AS LONG AS THE HEALTH OF THE FAMILY PERMITTED. HE SERVED AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS, AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR EIGHT YEARS AND ACTED AS TOWNSHIP CLERK FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE I.O.O.F. AND THE REBEKAH LODGES AT ELLSTON.  MR. JOHNSTON HAS NOT ENJOYED GOOD HEALTH FOR YEARS, BUT ALWAYS HE GAVE WITHOUT STINT OR MEASURE OF HIMSELF, HIS TIME, HIS MONEY AND HIS INFLUENCE TO THE THINGS WHICH WERE RIGHT…A BUILDER OF FUTURE GENERATIOINS.  HIS GOING OUT REMARKS THE FIRST BREAK IN THE FAMILY CIRCLE OF NINE BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND LEAVES THE THREE GRANDCHILDREN- DOROTHY, GENEVA AND GEORGE BREWNER, THREE SISTERS- MRS. MARY ELLA GOODALE, MRS. ADA MAY RUSH, AND MRS. EDITH SERENE SYZMORE, AND FIVE BROTHERS-CYRUS, ELLIS, PHINEAS, CHARLES AND SETH; NEPHEWS AND NIECES AND A HOST OF FRIENDS.  FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE M.E. CHURCH IN ELLSTON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, CONDUCTED BY HIS PASTOR, MISS NICHOLS, AND INTERMENT MADE IN ELLSTON CEMETERY.