Jeanne B Johnson Barker-Nunn

Kathy and I became friends during college, worked together in the fabric department at Donaldson's, and moved to New York City together upon graduation. She was very chic and very smart, and we had many adventures together. She majored in art history, and I will never forget the 8-hour day we spent at the Met when we visited New York the previous spring break. We eventually lost touch after she returned to Minnesota and began a family, but I will always remember her quick wit, sharp intelligence, and adventurous spirit, and was glad for her company on our path to young womanhood. 

I knew Ruth in high school, where she was, among other things, a champion debater, but we didn't become good friends until college, when she and Kathy Rantala and I often hung out as a threesome. Ruth had Type-1 diabetes, and by our final year or so in college, I think she became increasingly aware that her life might be short and became the most fun-seeking and adventurous of us all. She was wicked bright and witty and up for almost anything. After graduation, she took a teaching job in Las Vegas and would teach by day and hang out at the clubs and shows at night. The last time I saw her was in New York, where she had a layover before flying to a summer trip to Europe with a showgirl friend, and I will always take pleasure in thinking of her of as the young women bursting with anticipation and eager for new experiences that I met for drinks that evening. I don't know much about her life after that, but know that she died much too young, and that the world lost a bright light when she did.