EMILY A. JOHNSON

Wasilla resident Emily Ann Johnson, 24, died of heart failure Oct. 8, 2005, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 14, at Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla, with Pastor Dwayne Hanson officiating and pallbearers Thomas Favor, James Chapman, Robert Searcy, Jeremy Hedi, Rick Fields and Dean Scott. Flowers are welcome.

Burial will follow at Wasilla Aurora Cemetery.

Ms. Johnson was born May 4, 1981, in Portland, Ore., where she was raised and attended school in the Portland School District.

She moved to Alaska in May 2000 where she lived in Anchorage and later made Wasilla her home.

She was a mother and homemaker and a member of the Lutheran faith who attended Ascensio Lutheran Church in Gresham, Ore.

She enjoyed writing poetry, making crafts and playing darts.

A friend wrote, &#8221I know Emily loved her family, her fiancé, Thomas and their son, Jeremiah, more than anything else. She will be in our hearts forever. I will always remember how she affected our lives, no matter how short or how long.

&#8221The thoughts of Emily in my heart will always be strong. I will always remember Emily as a beautiful young woman, desperately wanting nothing except a normal and stable existence with family and friends. Emily was bright, talkative, loving, caring, generous, creative and loved to write poetry. I will miss and love her forever.

&#8221Emily cared more about others than herself. She was very strong willed at times.

&#8221Emily was born with a heart defect that led to three open-heart surgeries in her lifetime, hoping each one would lead to a normal life. She was a troubled girl growing up, with a lifetime of medical problems. Her heart just couldn't be fixed. We will miss her.“

She is survived by her fiancé, Thomas Favor, and son, Jeremiah Favor, of Wasilla; parents, Robert and Vicki Johnson; two sisters, Peggy Troendle and Sandra Hanna of Portland, Ore.; brothers, Richard Johnson of The Dalles, Oregon, Steven Smith and Jared Smith, both of Vale, Ore.; a grandmother, Helen Skinner of Portland, Ore.; niece and nephew of Portland, Ore.; three nephews of The Dalles, Ore., and one nephew of Vale, Ore.

Arrangements are with Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.