Ida (Betty) Johnston of Gorham was planning to replant a flower garden that she thought of as a memorial for her late husband.
But she didn’t get to plant the garden this year. Johnston, 79, died Friday after a traffic accident in Gorham.
Her daughter, Judy Johnston of Wells, remembered Wednesday that her mother “loved, loved” flowers in her garden. “After dad died, she called it Dad’s Garden,” Judy Johnston said. “It turned into something beautiful.”
Johnston died following a car accident at the intersection of New Portland Road and Libby Avenue at 3:15 p.m. Friday in Gorham. Johnston was traveling southbound on Libby Avenue and failed to stop at a stop sign and drove into the path of a van, Lt. Chris Sanborn said in a police report.
Johnston’s Saturn sedan collided with a Dodge van driven by Herman Daniels, 61, of Cape Elizabeth, who was westbound on New Portland Road. Both Daniels and Johnston were transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Both vehicles were damaged extensively, police said.
Gorham police said Johnston was pronounced dead on arrival at the Maine Medical Center. Daniels was treated for non-life threatening injuries at the hospital and released.
Gorham Officer Wayne Coffin investigated the accident. Westbrook Police and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office assisted Gorham in reconstructing the accident.
Judy Johnston said her father died 14 months ago after a lengthy stay in a nursing home. When he went into a nursing home, she said, it was hard for her mother. She said her mother found solace in planting flowers. Ida Johnston loved animals and had a cat and a female Dachshund named Liesel.
“She always had sweet stories about the dog,” said Johnston’s daughter. “She dearly loved animals.”
Johnston and a twin sister, Sally, were born in Brookline, Mass., June 29, 1928, and grew up in Boston and Falmouth, Mass.
She married James F. Johnston Jr., March 31, 1951. They raised their four children in Cherry Hill, N. J., and Lewiston, after they relocated to Maine when her husband became the co-owner of Maine Engineering in Auburn.
She was an active member of the Episcopal Church and she worked in the registrar’s office at Bates College for several years before she and her husband retired to West Yarmouth, Mass. After her husband developed Alzheimer’s disease, they moved to Gorham to be closer to their children.
The Johnstons moved to a condo in Gorham in 1997. Judy Johnston said her parents enjoyed visiting Baxter Memorial Library and the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. “They liked walking through the campus,” Judy Johnston said.
Johnston said her parents loved living in Gorham. “The people were so nice to them,” she said.
She said her mother enjoyed a beach in Scarborough and liked the healthcare facilities available in Gorham. “The pharmacy knew her by name,” Johnston said.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 24, at noon from St. Luke’s Cathedral, State Street, Portland. Burial will follow in Eastern Cemetery, Gorham. Arrangements are by Dolby & Dorr Funeral Chapel.
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