Carol Ann Johnson Barbian, wife, mother, artist, sister and friend to all, was born April 28, 1944, in Brigham City, Utah, to Charles Henry and Joyce Holmes Johnson. She left this mortal world May 24, 2015, lovingly surrounded by all of her children. Carol fought a two-plus-year battle against cancer, but was cheerful to the end. She loved her children and grandchildren and was an inspiration to many.

Carol and her mother lived with her mother's parents on a farm north of Brigham City for two years while her father served in the Navy in Hawaii during World War II. When he was discharged, the family moved to Seattle, where her brother, Darrell, was born. When Carol's father's father died in 1948, Charles' sisters insisted he come to North Dakota to run the farm, so the family moved to North Dakota. They were only there a short time before Joyce put her foot down and told Charles she was taking the children and moving back to Utah. He could come or not. He did. So the family settled in Ogden, Utah, where Carol grew up. She spent many enjoyable hours on her grandparents' farm, riding the draft horses and picking fruit. She loved horses, but her parents kept having babies. She couldn't understand why her parents didn't get her a pony instead of another sister.

She was a good student in school and earned perfect attendance in junior high, where she started her art training when she dropped the band class. She graduated from Bonneville High School in 1962 in the second graduating class. That fall Carol moved to Logan, Utah, to begin college. It was at Utah State University that she met the love of her life, Dennis H. Barbian. Education was very important to Carol and her goal was to graduate from college, the first on her dad's side of the family to do so. One week after graduation, Carol and Dennis married, a union that lasted 46 years until Dennis's passing in 2012. The fall of 1966 they moved to St. Louis, where Dennis began dental school and Carol taught seventh- and eighth-grade English and art. Four years later they moved with son Kent to Missoula where Dennis began dental practice.

Soon Carol and Dennis moved to a small farm in Stevensville, where they raised their five children, Kent, Eric, Michelle, Scott and Kristel. The children were all great help on the farm as they moved sprinkler pipe, raised cow/calf pairs and the hay to feed them. All of the children attended Stevensville schools and were good students and active in sports. Despite Carol and Dennis commuting 35 miles to Missoula every day for work, they attended all school events, games and family activities with their children. When the children grew up and moved away, Carol and Dennis sold the farm and moved back to Missoula in 2005.

Carol found creative outlets in many ways. She was an accomplished watercolor artist and studied with some of the best U.S. professional artists. She was a signature member of Montana Watercolor Society and served many years on the board. She taught adult education watercolor classes at Stevensville for many years. She was also skilled in caligraphy and making elaborate greeting cards. Carol liked to garden and always had visions of grandeur of the beautiful gardens and abundant harvests promised in the seed catalogues. She loved flowers, which she called her "soul food," though they were also candy for the deer. She liked to read, sew and do crafts.

Carol always enjoyed meeting the people of the world and said it was the most fun to interact with them. She learned to love travel from family vacations growing up. There were annual trips to North Dakota for harvest and visits to extended family all over the U.S. She frequently told about the trip her family took in 1964 when her parents and seven children piled in the family sedan, no seat belts, and traveled across the U.S. to the New York World's Fair, Washington, D.C., and to visit cousins in Virginia. They saw many interesting sights coming and going, and at her request there was a stop in Kentucky to tour horse country. Growing children, farm and job responsibilities limited travel for some time, but Carol still managed family travels to national parks when possible. She and Dennis enjoyed a wonderful trip to Brazil for son Scott's wedding to Juliana. In addition, Carol has been to Hawaii, northeastern U.S. for leaf-peeping, China, Mexico and Italy. She was planning a trip to Great Britain, land of her ancestry, in June and longed to do an Alaskan Inland Passage cruise.

Carol was lively and talkative and always excited to share her stories. Her warm smile and easy conversations drew people to her everywhere she went. She made many friends with foreign students through participation with the University of Montana Missoula International Friendship Program and thought of Hiromi Sato almost as an adopted daughter. She worked as a window clerk at the post office in Missoula for 24 years, and many customers would wait specifically for her window for a chat.

Carol's friends not only included those she met, but she also enjoyed getting to know about her ancestors through geneaology and researching family history. She kept close contact with distant cousins and extended family all over the U.S., and conversations frequently included drawing out stories of their growing up and any relatives they remembered. Some treasured nuggets she uncovered were learning about her grandmother who homesteaded in North Dakota and finding that she was eligible for DAR, a Daughter of American Revolutionary participants.

Carol was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many teaching and leadership positions. She loved her Savior, Jesus Christ, and tried her best to emulate Him. Other community service included being a volunteer writing coach for Missoula Public Schools.

Carol is survived by her five children, Kent, Eric, Michelle (Chris) Pederson, Scott (Juliana) and Kristel (Tom) Kinder; 10 grandchildren, Kyle, Katelyn, Trevor, Brock, Bryce, Aubrey, Isaac, Joseph, Benjamin and Elias; sisters, Charlene Durham, Lynette Fawson, Deanna Schroeder, Janeil Pluim, Cheryle Johnson and Marilyn Johnson-Faulkner; brother, Kenneth Johnson; three aunts; numerous cousins; and multitudes of friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dennis; brother, Darrell; and parents, Charles and Joyce H. Johnson.

Carol and her family wish to thank the kind nurses at St. Patrick Providence Cancer Center and her wonderful doctor Sarah Scott, who gave such excellent care. She urges everyone to stay current on their colonoscopies.

There will be viewings at Garden City Funeral Home on Friday, May 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. and at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3201 Bancroft St., on Saturday, May 30, from 2 to 2:45 p.m. The funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at the church.

Burial will be at West Weber Cemetery in Ogden. Arrangements under direction of Garden City Funeral Home.

In leiu of flowers, the family wishes donations be sent to Team Up Montana, the Cancer Compassion Fund.

Source - Missoulian - May 26, 2015