The funeral mass for Elaine M. Johnston will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday March 10 ^th 2012 at Christ the King Catholic Church in Byron, MN. with the Rev. Paul Surprenant and Rev. Charlie Collins officiating. Burial will be at Byron Cemetery in Byron. Visitation will be one hour before the service at church on Saturday March 10, 2012

Mrs. Johnston, 88 of Byron, MN.  died Tuesday March 6, 2012 at Fairview Care Center in Dodge Center, MN.

Elaine was born December 3, 1923 in rural Mapleton, Iowa to Mike and Rose (Petrositch) Nielsen.  Elaine was raised in Mapleton, and during WWII, she moved to Washington D.C. and worked at The Pentagon.  On  July  1, 1946 she married Thomas J. Johnston at Vestal, New York. The couple lived in Byron since August of 1956. Mrs. Johnston was a homemaker and member of Christ the King Catholic Church. Mr. Johnston was a systems analyst for IBM and he died March 8, 2004.

Those left to cherish her memory are her two daughters, Carolyn Johnston of Byron, MN. and  Joelyn (Duane) Senst of Waseca, MN. Her grandchildren Betsy (Tim) Koppelman  of Montgomery, MN. and Steven (Janelle) Senst of LaCrescent, MN. great  grandson Andrew Senst. Two brother's  Paul (Jeanne) Nielsen of Bellingham, WA.; Mike Nielsen of Mapleton, Iowa; three sisters Rita Dahl of Omaha, NE.; Evelyn (Clarence) Cameron of Tupelo, MS.; Carol Ann Nielsen of Seattle, WA.; sister-in-law Betty Nielsen of Mapleton, Iowa; and special niece Janice Weatherby of Seattle, WA. Elaine was preceded in death by her parents, husband, two sisters and one brother.

Elaine loved spending time with her family, and she also enjoyed gardening, sewing, and reading.

Macken Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com.