by Sue Orsen
They married brothers from South Dakota who lived hard, played hard, and died young, within five months of each other.
Goody Johnson died at home in his bed in August of 1998.  He was only 64.  Although he had cancer, Jean said that his unexpected death was probably from a heart attack or blood clot.
Jerry Johnson died that winter in January of 1999, also at home in his bed in Victoria.  He was 70 when colon cancer took its final toll.  Those last couple of weeks were difficult for him and it wasn't easy for Ruth either.
Jean and Ruth sit at the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking their own language as they catch up on the latest news.  It's sort of a personal language about children, cousins, marriages, divorces, and in-laws.  Jean and Ruth, and also their late husbands, come from families of eight siblings each so it's a big alphabet of many characters.
Their lives have touched and mingled through thick and thin since the women met and married the Johnson men.  Many of those years were spent right here in Victoria, Minnesota.
Ruth still lives in Victoria.  As a matter of fact, she lives on Main Street.  Her home is located about halfway between Floyd's Bar and the Notermann Building.  Her front windows face the Victoria Creamery.  Her back windows see the back of Victoria City Hall.
"I still feel like I'm very private here," said Ruth.  "I just pull the drapes."
Jean lives in Waconia now.  Her front windows face other new homes in the neighborhood.  Her back windows overlook a large pond where a gaggle of geese also enjoy the peace and privacy.
Back in the old days their husbands played rhythm guitars and sang in a band.  "They were in different bands," explained Ruth, "because they each did the same thing."
Country western music and popular music was their genre and they often brought their bands to Victoria, including to wedding dances at the Village Hall and street dances at the Lions Weekend.  The two brothers had a lot in common besides music and so did their wives, sisters in law who seem almost like sisters as they reminisce and recall the old days.

Jean Duncan, the blond, was born on June 3^rd, 1942, near St. Cloud and spent many of her growing up years at Clear-water.  Her parents were landscapers who also farmed.  "My mom died at the age of 52 from working too hard," said Jean.  "She had an enlarged heart.  She worked so hard in the sod fields and with eight kids besides."
Jean attended school at Kimball and Annandale and met Goodwin Johnson when she was just a teenager.  "We met through music at a bar in Silver Creek," said Jean.  "He was playing guitar and singing with Mel Mertz.  They were called the Two Dakota Ramblers.  They formed a band and played for 40 years!  I was in the band for 20 years.  I played the bass guitar ... and sang as little as possible.  They kept the name and the band is still going.  Our son Cory is the drummer for the Dakota Ramblers.  They've done well and opened shows for people like Don Williams."
Jean was doing a lot of babysitting at the time for her sister, so was in tow at Silver Creek with her sister and husband.   "Goody wouldn't come and talk to me," she said.  "But he later told my sister he was going to marry me because I had the most beautiful legs he ever saw."
Was it love at first sight?  "He was so gosh darn shy and I loved his voice," Jean stated.  "I liked music.  Music, music, music!  He was so shy that his brothers and sisters would come to the door for me.  But, lo and behold, through the years he changed and he got to be a clown in the family."
Jean was 18 when they married on March 4^th, 1961, at the Assemblies of God Church in Clearwater.  "It was a horrible wedding day," she said.  "There was a big snowstorm and the band didn't show up so Goody played and my aunt passed the shoe while I danced with old boyfriends."
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