Ruth Ann (Gorman) Johnson, age 83, passed peacefully on August 27 in Sheridan Wyoming.

She was born December 21, 1936, at Sheridan Memorial Hospital to Jess J. Gorman and Josephine Palmer. Her early years were shaped by harsh ranch life, deep snow winters, thick spring muds, and daily horse commutes to one-room schoolhouses. Her mother, Jo, died when she was very young, and Ruth took over the ranch responsibilities of firing up the woodstove to feed the hands, boil laundry, and wash the dishes.

She was also an accomplished barrel racer and adept at training horses.

She attended Sheridan High School until she graduated and took her first full-time job as a roller-skating carhop before transitioning to the bookkeeping department of Sheridan National Bank.

At the age of 21, she met Gaylord “Skip” Johnson as he was washing his car and ended up wedded several weeks later September 6, 1958. Their wedded bliss carried Ruth and Skip from Billings, Montana, Buffalo, Wyoming, Midwest, Wyoming, back to Sheridan, Wyoming, and eventually to Rock Springs, Wyoming. Along the way, various sons were born: Steven Johnson, age 60, Stewart Johnson, age 58, Daniel Johnson, age 57, and Robert Johnson, age 52. She was a fierce, protective, and dedicated mother, devoted to her sons and serious about them doing the right thing.

In Rock Springs, Ruth ran the Nursery School at the First Congregational Church before shifting to Walnut Elementary school as a teacher’s aide. During those years she developed deep and meaningful friendships she cherished the rest of her days. After retiring, she looked after her aunt, Amy Bester, until eventually returning to Sheridan.

In her Sheridan retirement, she took up league bowling and joined a bevy of close friends for weekly outings, holiday gatherings, and birthday celebrations.

She is survived by her sons: Steve, Stewart, and wife Dianna, Daniel and wife Cindy, and Robert, grandchildren: Luke, Alexandra and husband Layne Cornett, Makayla and husband Bradley Shepard, Olivia, Maddox, Saylor, Augustus, Macelan, Manning and Maggie, and great-grandchildren: Kasen and Ryker Cornett and Oliver Shepard.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Skip Johnson, brother Jess Gorman, and her parents.

A memorial will take place at 11 a.m. September 4th at Sheridan Municipal Cemetery. It is an open-air gathering for story swapping and grand remembrance.

SheridanMedia.com - Sept. 1, 2020.