Johanna Croissant

Johanna Croissant, born Johanna Gertrud Maria Schmidt, beloved mother, Oma, and friend, passed away peacefully on June 8, 2026, after facing pancreatic cancer with remarkable strength and quiet acceptance. She spent her final days in the Forest Grove home she loved and had made her own for nearly 50 years, surrounded by the love of her family and friends. She was ninety and a half years old.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Milton “Russ” Croissant; her parents, Julius and Gertrud Schmidt; her brother, Werner Schmidt; Russ’s parents, Fred and Mary Croissant; and her grandson, Jesse McRae.

She is survived by her children, Mary (Jay), Heidi (David), Tom (Marianne), Steve (Angela), and Mark (Lynn); her sixteen grandchildren; her fourteen great-grandchildren, with two more on the way; and many dear friends, loved ones, and extended family members.

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Johanna was born on November 16, 1935, in Oberglogau, Germany, a town in Upper Silesia that is now part of Głogówek, Poland. She spent the first nine years of her life in the nearby village of Stiebendorf, where her father served as teacher and school principal, and her mother created a warm and loving home. Her memories of those years were of family, faith, fruit trees, gardens, music, and the close-knit village life that shaped her childhood.

As a child, Johanna lived through World War II and fled her childhood home with her family as the war came to an end. The journey west was difficult and uncertain, but the values that carried her through it—faith, perseverance, family, and love—remained with her always. After the war, her family rebuilt their life in Bayreuth, a place she continued to think of as home.

As a young woman, Johanna moved to Nuremberg, where she worked at a bank and began building an independent life. In 1957, while vacationing in Riccione, Italy, with her friend Elfrida, she met a young American soldier named Milton “Russ” Croissant. What drew Johanna to Russ most was the way he spoke about his family—his parents, brothers, and sisters, and the love that connected them. Family mattered deeply to Johanna, and she recognized that same devotion in him.

After the vacation ended, Rusty went to remarkable lengths to find her again. What began as three days in Italy became months of letters, poems, and planning, eventually carrying Johanna across the ocean to Oregon. She and Rusty were married on August 13, 1959, in Portland. Together, Johanna and Rusty built a life rooted in hard work, resilience, and devotion to family. They raised five children—Mary, Heidi, Tom, Steve, and Mark—and eventually made their home in Forest Grove, Oregon, where generations of family memories were created.

Johanna was known to many as Hanne, but to her family she was Oma. Her great-grandchildren called her Oma, while some of her grandchildren lovingly called her Omy. Whatever name people used, they knew the same woman: warm, steady, generous, deeply grateful, profoundly selfless, and deeply loving.

She had a gift for making people feel welcome, remembered, and loved. She never met a stranger. Whether through a thoughtful question, a warm conversation, a shared meal, or a quiet act of kindness, Johanna made people feel seen. She put others first instinctively and without fanfare, caring for the people around her in ways both large and small.

Johanna also lived with a spirit of gratitude. She expressed thanks freely and sincerely—to the doctors and nurses who cared for her in the final months of her life, to neighbors and friends, and to anyone who crossed her path with kindness. She noticed what people did for her, no matter how small, and she made sure they knew it mattered.

Her life was filled with friendships that became family. She loved books of many kinds, especially stories rich with history, relationships, and the quiet strength of ordinary lives, and read more than 170 books in the last few years alone. She loved good food and remained curious throughout her life, especially in the kitchen, where she enjoyed watching, learning, asking questions, and helping wherever she could. She enjoyed long walks with dear friends, visits with neighbors, family trips, and the simple joy of being surrounded by the people she loved.

Johanna continued to surprise and inspire her family throughout her later years. At the age of 80, when many people are beginning to give up driving, she earned her driver’s license for the first time. She recently renewed it for another 10 years, driving safely and confidently along the way. For Johanna, driving gave her independence, but it also gave her something more: confidence. Her family was incredibly proud of her.

Johanna’s legacy lives on through her family and through the many friends, neighbors, and loved ones whose lives were made better because she was part of them.

She will be remembered for her kindness, humility, patience, faith, quiet strength, deep gratitude, selfless love, and devotion to family. She lived through extraordinary events, but those who knew her best understood that her greatest impact came through the way she lived each ordinary day—with grace, generosity, gratitude, and love.

Johanna’s life was a remarkable journey. She was deeply loved, and she will be deeply missed.