Kathy's Story

A biography of Katherine Hutzler Cockey Troutner Johnson, born in 1919 in Baltimore, Md., who lived in New York City, Colorado and Sun Valley, Boise and McCall, Idaho, written by Kathy and her husband, Earnest Johnson.

Kathy’s Story tells of growing up in a family of wealth in Baltimore, Md., followed by her years at Bennington College, her dance career in New York City and working with Orson Welles on his famous radio play, “War of the Worlds.” After marrying intellectual Charles Cockey in Baltimore, Kathy bore two sons, Charlie and Jimmy. When her marriage did not work out, Kathy moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., to teach dance at Colorado College. Kathy and her boys later moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, where she loved skiing, hiking in the mountains, driving her Jaguar and living the good life. In Sun Valley, Kathy met and married genius architect/inventor Art Troutner and bore a son, Art Jr, and a daughter, Tara. Moving to Boise, Idaho, Kathy became active in community affairs and the arts, teaching dance, directing plays and acting at the Boise Little Theater. Kathy and her family spent time in McCall, Idaho, where they built a small cabin in the forest near Payette Lake. Following her divorce from Troutner, Kathy met and married Earnest Johnson, a penniless school teacher just back from an adventure in Alaska. No one thought the marriage would last, but it did - for 28 years - until Kathy's death from cancer in 2009. Together, they enjoyed a wonderful life of world travel and happiness. A true love story.

Earnest Dale Johnson was born in Colville, Wash., in 1925, and grew up in Spokane, Wash. After service in World War II as a tail gunner with the Flying Tigers stationed in China, he returned to the U.S., studied law, married and raised five children. His first wife, Ann, died in 1977. He later married Katherine Troutner, who died in 2009. He holds a B.S. (Ed.) degree from the University of Idaho. His military awards include a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal. His interests include writing, travel, hiking, fly fishing, cross-country skiing and bicycling. He is an avid reader and a student of foreign relations, especially China. Johnson lives in Boise and McCall, Idaho.