Barbara Johnston-Bolingbroke, 91, passed into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Post Falls. Barbara was born Jan. 2, 1932, to Dixon and Genevieve Fannon in Los Angeles. Upon graduating from Santa Monica High School, she became a certified x-ray technician at Glendale General Hospital.
In 1956 she married Ronald Johnston of Orofino and they moved to Moscow where he finished his degree at the University of Idaho. Ron and Barbara moved to Orofino and Ron worked for the family business at Alph Johnson Lumber Company.
They lived at the mill camp for a number of years where they raised their family. Though Barbara was raised in the city it didn’t take long before she acclimated to country living. Her first real encounter was with a black bear that had been causing havoc at camp. Though having never fired a rifle before, and with a bit of advice from Ron, Barbara took aim, fired and made a clean shot through the bear’s neck.
Ron and Barbara moved to Lewiston in 1984. Ron passed away in the summer of 1988. Several years later, in 2004, Barbara married Don Bolingbroke of Moscow. Ron and Don had been college friends at the U of I after having both returned from the Korean War. Sweetly enough, Don was a groomsman in their wedding and the families remained in close contact. Don and Barbara moved to Post Falls in 2022 to be closer to his family.
Barbara is survived by her husband, Don Bolingbroke of Post Falls, daughters Susan (Doug) Otte and Diana (Sam) Juracich, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Barbara would want it known that she loved Jesus first and her family a very close second. Her daughters feel very blessed to have had her as their mom and know they will see her again soon.
