Myrtle Louise Johnston, 91, of Boulder passed away peacefully from natural causes at home in the company of family on July 4, 2024.
Myrtle was the first of two daughters of Edward and Hilda (Petersen) Nolte, born at 5 p.m. on July 3, 1933 at their ranch in Silver Star, MT. She attended schools in Twin Bridges, then earned a B.S. in education from Western Montana College.
Myrtle first taught at the East Side Elementary School in Livingston, then added a special education endorsement to her teaching certificate and taught at the Boulder River School and Hospital. In retirement, she worked for the Golden Triangle Mental Health Service, the Senior Companion program, and at the Free Enterprise Health Mine.
She married Marvin Watts, and they resided in Whitehall for a short time. They separated before the birth of their daughter Diana in 1957. Myrtle then met John Johnston in Boulder in 1971; they married in 1972 and spent the next 52 years outside of Boulder, where they built a home.
Myrtle was licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as a General Class Amateur Radio Operator. Her radio kept her in touch with John as he traveled the state. At times in the winter months, the hobby included flying in helicopters to reach mountain-top repeater sites. When not making random contacts with other operators, Myrtle ran a trivia net, connecting with hams in western Montana, and also for several years provided communications for Search and Rescue activities.
Myrtle was never far from horses, on the ranch or in Boulder. In the later years, she and John kept Appaloosas in Boulder, and Myrtle rode with friends, in parades, and at county fairs.
Myrtle also was never without a piano. She played for weddings, funerals, and churches in Boulder, Butte and Helena; taught students; and built an electronic organ. She was a 50-year member of the Boulder United Methodist Church, where she became a lay speaker. With John, she conducted services in churches, retirement, and nursing homes. Myrtle played the piano in the church in Boulder for 30 years, for several years at the Mountain View and Trinity Churches in Butte, and weekly on the Montana Developmental Center campus. She was active for many years with the United Methodist Women of Boulder and as an officer in the Mountain Sky UMW, traveling to national UMW conferences and also to the Yellowstone Annual Conference as a delegate for the Boulder Church.
Myrtle enjoyed flying with John, and they traveled the northwest visiting family and friends for several decades. Often they would take friends for rides in the surrounding area. Myrtle enjoyed camping, snow mobiles, motorcycles, roller skating, ice skating, fishing, horseback riding, gardening, knitting, painting, bowling, scrapbooking, and hunting. She was always involved in crafts and brought home many ribbons at the Jefferson County Fair with photography and craft projects. Especially in the winter, she and John enjoyed snowmobiling into a cabin in the Elkhorn Mountains and spending a day or two. Fly fishing was a favorite past time; the Boulder River and beaver ponds were her favorite places, and she often would dream of fishing.
Myrtle traveled through England, France, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, Canada, and Mexico. In Germany they tried to find family relatives but the wall between East and West Germany prevented that.
Myrtle endured 11 major surgeries in her later years to replace arthritic joints; she often said that she had arthritis but that it didn’t have her. Various exercise programs helped but the best was a pool that gave her a nearly weightless environment to walk, bicycle in, float, and play a basketball game. Myrtle never failed to say how wonderful it was to be in the pool. Myrtle was able to move around the property and go for short trips in a track chair as she became less mobile.
Myrtle was preceded in death by her sister Ruth Webb (Steve) in 2012. She lost her mother Hilda in 1939, her stepmother Theora in 1981 and her father Edward in 1985. She is survived by her husband John and daughter Diana Douglas of Butte, and a close niece and nephew of Helena, Ken and Sheila Danielson.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 11, at the Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home in Helena. Viewing is at 9:30 that morning and internment will follow a reception at the funeral home in the Boulder Cemetery at 2:30 a.m.
The family particularly wishes to thank Connie Grenz, Kim Kolstad, and Cathy Birtcher, who took the time to help Myrtle with getting into and out of the pool and stayed with her when John was out. We also are grateful for the many ladies from the Visiting Angels of Helena. A special thanks also to the many nurses, care givers, and the chaplain from St. Peters Hospice Program.
Condolences and comments may be directed to the funeral home at aswfuneralhome.com.
