LAURA JOHNSON MCFARLAND Oct. 27, 1934 – Aug. 7, 2020

Laura Johnson McFarland died August 7, 2020 in Pima County, Arizona.

Laura was born Laura Alice Johnson in Hartford City, Indiana, on October 27, 1934. She grew up in Hartford City and graduated from Hartford City High School as class Valedictorian in 1952. She went to Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio on scholarship.

After graduating from college, Laura took a position with AT&T in Cincinnati. In Cincinnati she met Robert (“Mac”) McFarland and they were married in May 1957 in Hartford City.

The couple moved to Canoga Park, California and both took jobs at Rocketdyne. In 1960 Laura left Rocketdyne to have their first child, Eric. Julia was born in 1964 while the family lived in Thousand Oaks, CA. In 1967 after 10 years in California, the family moved to Los Alamos, where both Eric and Julia grew up and graduated from UNM.

In Los Alamos Laura became active in several groups including Northern New Mexico Funeral Society, AAUW and the County Extension World Food Group. After the children were old enough, Laura took a job at Hall’s Shoe Store and later at the Historical Society Museum book shop. The book shop job was appropriate since Laura was always an avid reader.

From the time she was in college, where she majored in Spanish, Laura enjoyed travel and studies in Latin America. She was especially interested in the history of the ancient people of Mexico and Central America, and visited many of the excavated ruins of their sites.

Laura is survived by her husband of 63 years, Robert McFarland, son Eric McFarland (Christina) of Laveen, Arizona, daughter Julia McFarland (Hadi Qassoudi) of Mountain View, California, grandson Ryan McFarland of Mesa, Arizona and nieces Beth Ann Konves and Kathy Lloyd of Dayton, Ohio.

She is predeceased by her parents Vaughn and E.C. (Storms) Johnson and her sister Nancy Bethel.

Laura was the major force in the development of a conscientious and caring family and she will be greatly missed.