Irene, of the bakery, turns 100

Dec. 1—Irene Johnson doesn't relish the spotlight, but today she'll be the center of attention at her 100th birthday celebration at Brookdale Assisted Living in Lewiston.

Irene is still in good health and loves to read books while sitting in her favorite chair with a bowl of chocolate mint patties nearby. She's zipped through almost the entire library at Brookdale, so if anyone is wondering what to get her today, a fresh stack of books would be a winner.

Before she retired, the mother of six could usually be found baking cookies at home or behind a cash register at Irene's Bakery in Lewiston, the Woodshed Bar and Supper Club in Winchester or Driscoll's Army/Navy store in Lewiston.

But her story really begins on Dec. 1, 1923, in Linton, N.D., where she was born a century ago.

Irene was the fourth child of Fred and Johanna Weishaar, who were Black Sea immigrants from Ukraine. She was related to many of the hearty Germans who settled in the Dakotas after coming to America.

Her parents were farmers who homesteaded in eastern Montana in the 1930s. Between the Depression and the Dust Bowl, farming was a tough pursuit in those days, and the "old dust" blowing across the region was formidable.

"Eastern Montana was nothing but a sandbox," Irene said.

She and her five brothers and three sisters attended a country school that required a 2-mile walk each way, in all types of weather. The teacher was also the minister of the Lutheran church in the rural area.

"My older sister and I walked into the schoolhouse one morning, and there he was, laying on the floor dead," she said. "We lost our teacher and minister that day."

She graduated from Fairfield High School, near Great Falls, in 1942.

Four of her five brothers served in the Army, and her father couldn't run a farm on his own, so the Weishaar family moved to Yakima, where a job was waiting for Fred at a relative's farm.

During those years, Irene and her sisters were proud to help out with the war effort on the home front.

"We packed parts for trucks and other things used in the war," she said. "They were then shipped to wherever they were needed overseas."

On Oct. 13, 1946, Irene married Floyd Johnson, a Pearl Harbor survivor, and started a family. They lived in Seattle before settling in Lewiston in 1958.

"My two oldest sons were born in Yakima, my two girls were born in Seattle, and my two youngest boys were born in Lewiston," Irene said.

For 15 years, she helped run the bakery bearing her name in downtown Lewiston. "I think that was my favorite job, working the cash register at the bakery," Irene said.

The Johnsons closed the bakery in 1972, and opened a supper club in Winchester. Irene would often do the books at home after helping customers at their businesses. It closed in 1976, and the couple returned to Lewiston.

She and Floyd divorced in 1981, and Irene worked in retail for several years before retiring in 1989.

During the 1980s, Irene went back to Yakima to be close to her sisters for a few years before settling in Post Falls, where she lived next door to her daughter Debra for 20 years. She's resided at Brookdale for two years now.

"I'm getting used to it," Irene said of her tidy one-bedroom apartment.

When asked how she has stayed so healthy for 100 years, Irene laughed.

"I have no idea," she said. "Everyone's been asking me that lately."

Her oldest sister was almost 101 when she passed away, so genes may play a role. However, her father died at the age of 69, and her mother passed away at 79.

Irene's chocolate mint patties are a mainstay dating back to her customer service days. Businesses, such as her bakery, typically had them on the counter by the cash register.

These days, she likes to share them with grandchildren and keep a few handy while continuing her lifelong passion for reading. As a child on the farm, she remembers hiding in a closet to read books, "just to get away from my siblings."

Over the years, she baked countless batches of chocolate chip cookies for her kids, even shipping them overseas when her youngest son Barry was deployed.

Her oldest son Richard is now 75 and resides in Lewiston. Next came Dennis, who lives in the Spokane Valley, Debra, of Post Falls, Carol, who is deceased, Lance, of the Spokane Valley, and Barry, who lives in Moscow. She has 12 grandchildren and 23 great-grandkids.

Two of her great-granddaughters, Kaitlin and Marissa Johnson, share Irene's birthday, along with the red hair of her youth.

From 2 to 4 p.m., family and friends will be celebrating Irene's long life with a party at Brookdale. Relatives from as far away as Iowa are expected to attend, and a festive musical performance by the Banana Belt Fiddlers is also on tap.

Irene doesn't know if all of the fuss is necessary, but she's looking forward to spending the afternoon with her loved ones from far and near.

"My mom is just one of those low-key people who is always quietly doing things for others," Barry said. "She doesn't really like the spotlight, and she was never one to take credit for what she does behind the scenes. We cherish her and want this day to be special."

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com. You can follow her on X @newsfromkerri.