04/02/2026
Rebecca Johnson, age 62, died at home on March 20th with her family holding her and each other, her soul transitioning to another state of being.
Born and raised in rural Eastern Kansas, she graduated from Lola High School, went onto Allen County Community College and graduated from Pittsburgh State (KS) University becoming the first of her family to get a college degree. She was accepted to the University of Kansas School of Medicine where she met Mark Thorndike. They married the same weekend as their medical school graduation before departing to Phoenix, Arizona for residency. Rebecca completed the family medicine program at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Rebecca, always open to adventure, agreed to a six month temporary position in Anchorage with Mark. Alaska has a way of crawling into your heart; as is often the case, a temporary position became permanent, and Anchorage became home.
After the birth of her first child, Tim, Rebecca began the most important period of her life. Being a mother was an introduction to a new depth of love. It was all consuming and defined the next thirty years of her life. This was also a challenging time, as Rebecca had to learn to be a mother without mentorship or role models. As a great friend of hers once said, you must seek adversity to obtain rewards. Her adult children are the greatest reward, born of the most challenging and meaningful labor of her life.
This time was also a transition, first symbolically, no longer wanting to be called Becky as she had been her whole life; instead becoming Rebecca. She gave up medicine for motherhood and also pursued her spirituality. She became a spiritual director, which allowed time to read, write and study. Always questioning, learning, and growing in the light of love she slowly evolved from one-on-one direction to group-based spiritual teaching. She also underwent important spiritual transformations herself, and sought to help others do the same. This culminated in the development of Surrendered Presence Practice and Transformational Listening Circles (TLC’s). In the final years of her life, she wrote a guide to these practices called Untangled: How to Relax the Ego and Return to the Soul as a Guide. The book is a practical roadmap on how to form Transformational Listening Circles yourself, with clear instruction and guidance. It has helped many use the power of Love and practice to transition from living in ego to being in the soul as the guiding light.
Rebecca lived a life full of travel and adventure. Some notable trips include a trek in the Annapurna region of Nepal, a month-long pilgrimage along the way of Saint Francis from Florence to the Vatican, leading a group pilgrimage in honor of St. Hildegard von Bingen in Germany, and many backpacking and sea kayaking adventures in Alaska.
Rebecca was a person who loved many things, and loved them well. She loved dive bars, karaoke, dancing, and live music, especially local and touring bands in small venues. She hosted many gatherings and parties. The food was always good, the cocktails well crafted and the space filled with love. She loved playing pinball, thrift shopping, mid-century modern design, and all things vintage. She loved baseball games, the feel, sound and ritual of vinyl records, jazz, Charlie Brown Christmas, British murder mysteries, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, naturalist poetry, and the story of Ernest Shackleton’s voyage in Antarctica. She collected paintings, teacups, vintage Thermoses, and Avon perfume bottles.
She was preceded in death by her grandmother Evelyn Johnson; her father, Dale Johnson; her sister Sally Johnson, and her beloved dog, Jesse Jane. She is survived by her husband, Mark Thorndike; son, Tim Thorndike; daughter, Annie Thorndike; brother, Dan Johnson; mother Diana Igo; many cousins and so many of her chosen Alaskan family.
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