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Martha 'Marty' Johnson

Martha "Marty" Johnson, 51, lost her battle to breast cancer on July 8, 2011. Her decision and determination to fight her cancer using alternative treatments was admirable.

Martha was the oldest of five children born to deaf parents, Sylvia and Berwick Johnson, of Indiana. Together the family moved to Sonoma in 1974 and planted wine grapes which were sold to wineries throughout Sonoma and Napa Valley. Martha graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in 1978 and received her associate's degree from Santa Rosa Junior College.

Martha pursued her love of animals by working at The San Diego Zoo, San Jose Zoo and a private animal preserve in Forestville where she solely cared for tigers, leopards, and monkeys to name a few.

Although she loved caring for animals, she was most proud of the birth of her quadruplet children in 2000.

Her gentle, loving spirit will be missed by those who knew her.

She is survived by her husband, Daniel; her sons Alex and Ryan; daughters Emma and Mimi; stepson David; stepdaughter, Geneva and her son; father and stepmother, Berwick and Victorina Johnson; sister and husband, Julie and Rick Narveson and their five children; sister and husband, Kristy and Todd Ault, and their four children; stepsister and husband, Fe and Alan Sendaydiego and their three children; stepbrother and wife, Ian and Rowena Climacosa, and their son; step-sister, Ivy Climacosa.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Sylvia Johnson in 2009; brother, David Johnson in 1993 who was the Sonoma Planning Commissioner; and brother, Phillip Johnson in 1963.