Mary Ellen Mayer-Johnson
PORTAGE - Mary Ellen Mayer-Johnson was born on July 23, 1932, to John Hild and Helen Gordon Hild in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Her mother died due to complications of birth.
Following her mother’s death, Mary Ellen was placed with her father’s sister, Reena Jones, where she remained for her first two and one-half years. She was then placed with William and Doris Caldow, her mother’s cousin, in Lodi, WI. William and Doris later became her adoptive parents.
It was in Lodi that she completed her elementary and high school education (Class of 1950). She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood development and education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1955.
Following graduation, Mary Ellen accepted a teaching position with the Baraboo School District. She was the first kindergarten teacher at the then New South School. This provided a career Mary Ellen thoroughly loved and which she continued up until the birth of her children.
In Baraboo, she met and married Victor Mayer. Together they had three children: James (1959), Julie (1962) and Jon (1967). Victor’s career with General Telephone Company moved the family to several places in the state before they finally settled in Portage, WI. Mary Ellen and Victor subsequently divorced in 1988.
In 1996, Mary Ellen re-met her high school sweetheart, Carl (“Bud”) Johnson. His military service and her college studies had separated them in 1951. Forty-five years later, they married in Prescott, Arizona on September 6, 1997. Mary Ellen became stepmother to three wonderful daughters, and Bud became stepfather to her dear children. After 27 years of love and devotion, Mary Ellen passed peacefully on November 13, 2024, with her loving family beside her.
Mary Ellen was a longtime member of the Portage United Methodist Church serving as a Sunday school teacher and on various committees. She also continued teaching with the Portage School District as a substitute teacher after her children were grown.
Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, her ex-husband, Victor, mothers-in-law, Amelia Mayer and Margaret Johnson-Adamac, and stepdaughter and stepson Carla and Jeff Spragg. She is survived by her husband, Carl, children, James, Julie (Kyle) and Jon; stepchildren Cindi (Kurt) Andersen, Elena (Patrick) Gorman, Dana (Roger) Houk; grandchildren Ian (Aimee) Andersen, Michelle (Skylar) Harris and Erin (Rick) Bauer; great grandsons, Gunnar and Sullivan Andersen; her beloved cat, Squeak, and many devoted friends and cousins, including Jim and Christa Mraz, and Dick and Linda Holcomb.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Portage United Methodist Church or the Columbia County Humane Society.
Funeral arrangements are being made by Pflanz Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage.
Interment will be in Lodi at a later date, with memorial services planned for the Spring of 2025.
