One of four sisters, Johanna G.
was born in the Dutch colony of East Java in the South
Pacific in 1917. Her mother died shortly after her birth,
but when Johanna was ten her father remarried a lovely
woman who had two children with her father. Johanna
remembers a happy childhood marred only by a serious
case of malaria, which almost cause her death and did
cause her to miss two years of school.
When she was twenty, Johanna's father lost all his savings
after a friend swindled him. Her dreams of attending
University were lost, so she found work as a librarian.
She met a young Officer in the Java Navy, August K.,
and planned to marry. Java entered the war against Japan
after the bombing of Pearl Harbor as a show of support
for the US. August was killed in the Battle of Java
in February 1942.
After liberation in September
1945, Johanna found her way to England wearing the same
clothes she had worn for years. In order to improve
her English, she corresponded with an American mechanical
engineer, Johnnie G. They later married and adopted
two children from an orphanage in Columbia, where Johnnie's
work had taken them. Johanna became a US citizen and
lived for a time with her family in Libya where Johnnie
was working when they were evacuated due to the war
in the Middle East in 1968.
After 23 years of marriage, Johnnie died in the US in
1977. Johanna's sons live outside the US. Johanna resides
in a long-term care facility in Los Angeles County.
In spite of all she has endured, Johanna has a wonderful
outlook on life.
The WISE Long-Term Care Ombudsman program advocates
for residents like Johanna in nursing homes and other
long-term care facilities across Los Angeles County.
In spite of all
she has endured, Johanna has a wonderful outlook
on life.
