Jeannine L. Johnson

Jeannine Lee Johnson (Schneider), 81, of Rockford, Illinois passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loving family on February 13, 2022.

She was born to Joseph L. Schneider and Helena Schneider (Sheahan) in Belvidere, Illinois. Jeannine was raised in Marengo, Illinois. She graduated from Marengo Community High School and later received her bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University. She began her teaching career in Aurora, Illinois, teaching 8th Grade and 2nd Grade. She later moved to Rockford, Illinois and continued her educational career at Holy Family and Spring Creek Elementary. She relished in teaching young children, not just about schoolwork, but also on how to develop into “little humans”. She continued this noble task with her daughter, Kelly, after retiring from teaching. She was devoted to her family and enjoyed making a warm and cozy home for her husband, Greg, for 51 years. She loved making holidays special and particularly loved St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, given her proud Irish heritage. After her retirement, Jeannine also dedicated herself to being a strong and supportive caregiver to her aging mother, Helena, father, Joseph, and aunt, Ruby. In her early years, she was an avid skier and loved to travel the United States with her aunt Ruby. It was likely this extensive travel and sense of freedom that made Jeannine such a lover of this great country. In her later years she developed a love of gardening, cooking and watching her favorite sports teams. She spent many hours with her husband, Greg, watching University of Illinois, Notre Dame, Northwestern, as well as cheering on the Bears, Bulls and Cubs. She loved going to Cubs games and was thrilled to have been alive to witness them win the World Series. In her twilight years, she loved sitting out on her deck, pruning her flowers and spending time talking with her daughter, friends and relatives on her phone with her husband by her side.

Most of all, Jeannine loved people. She was a social being who thrived off of her interactions with her close friends and even those chance meetings with strangers, when she was left alone for more than three seconds. Everyone who met Jeannine understood what a singularly special person she was and everyone wanted to be around her. She was the light in the room and everyone benefited from her presence. Her radiant happiness drew the light from others and she left everyone feeling better than they had before they had encountered her. Jeannine was truly an angel on earth. She will be missed by those left behind, but survivors must take comfort in the knowledge God has truly called back his best angel.

She is pre-deceased by her parents, Joseph and Helena, her mother and father-in-law, June and Glenn Johnson, sister Patricia (Schneider) and brother-in-law Gerald Zickuhr, aunt Ruby Sheahan, and aunt Mildred Schneider. She is survived by her husband Greg G. Johnson, daughter Kelly J. Johnson, nephew Gerald (Jay) Zickuhr (Tami), nephew Thomas Zickuhr, niece Deborah Krueger (Thomas), Tess Zickuhr, Emily Krueger, and Katherine (Katie) Krueger (Chris).

A gathering of friends and family will be held at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, 1860 South Mulford Road, Rockford, Illinois on February 26, 2022 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to provide donations in Jeannine’s name to one of her favorite charities, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) and the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org). Her family would like to thank the staff, nurses and doctors of OSF St. Anthony in Rockford, Illinois and OSF Hospice for their loving, tender care of Jeannine in her hours of need. In keeping with their thanks, donations may also be made to OSF Healthcare Foundation (www.osfhealthcarefoundation.org).