Baxter Springs, KS - Carma Lou Johnson stepped into the arms of her beloved Savior on April 5, 2025. She was born to Harold and Laverne Johnson on September 9, 1931, in Filer, Idaho. Carma Lou was a "farm girl," and loved galloping on her cherished horses all over her parents' farm. She graduated from Twin Falls, Idaho High School, and attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, for two years where she received an associate's degree. It was there that she met Carolyn Mitchelson Childress who introduced her to Carma Lou's "Buddy," the love of her life. Carma Lou and Lee Edward "Bud" Johnson were married December 26, 1951, and lived in Baxter Springs, Kansas, the entirety of their married life until Bud went ahead of her to heaven in September 2020. While Bud taught as a high school English teacher, then elementary principal and subsequently high school principal, "Lou" was a homemaker and mother to their two daughters, Sandee and Sallee. Lou made beautiful clothing for herself and her girls, and maintained a welcoming, cozy home for her family. They frequently entertained Bud's work colleagues, who enjoyed her homemade pies and toffee. In 1974, Lou became assistant librarian at Johnston Public Library, where she greeted many local citizens with a big smile and twinkling eyes, and graciously shared her knowledge and passion for books and reading. Lou was a Golden Girl member of the local chapter of PEO.

Carma Lou was a voracious reader and Bible student, and also enjoyed knitting, creating many children's sweaters and caps for a mission group sponsored by Guideposts. Her primary focus and love was Jesus Christ, and she was a 73-year member of First Baptist Church in Baxter Springs, where she served in many capacities, primarily as a Bible teacher for young women, then young married couples, and finally the adult class. She also was a frequent guest speaker at churches and organizations throughout the community. In 2021, Lou moved to Wildwood Independent Living and Assisted Living facilities until she again relocated to Miami, Oklahoma, in 2024, where she lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Sallee and Rick Barger, until her death.

Carma Lou is survived by her daughters, Sandee DePriest and Sallee Barger, and their husbands, David DePriest and Rick Barger. Her grandchildren are Caleb and Halie Barger, Brendan DePriest and Eli DePriest and her great-grandchildren are Ky'Ari, Kyasian and Jainiya. Her great-nephew is Cleve Craig. They all grieve the loss of her presence on this earth, but rejoice that she is in heaven with Jesus, her beloved Buddy, her mother and father and other dear ones who preceded her. Her greatest wish would be that everyone she knows and has ever had contact with would know Jesus Christ as a personal friend and Savior, so that she can rejoice with them when "we all get to heaven."

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, April 14, 2025 at the First Baptist Church, Baxter Springs, KS. Burial will follow in the Baxter Springs Cemetery. Pallbearers for the service are; Rick Barger, Caleb Barger, David DePriest, Brendan DePriest, Eli DePriest, and Mike Cook. Online condolences maybe expressed at www.derfeltfuneralhomes.com.