When Mary Ellen Thompson was born on 10 August 1898, in Grand Junction, Greene, Iowa, United States, her father, Noah Thompson, was 29 and her mother, Hattie Morse, was 23. She married Ray Johnson on 10 March 1920. They were the parents of at least 2 daughters. She lived in Washington Township, Greene, Iowa, United States for about 10 years. She died on 29 January 1975, in Jefferson, Greene, Iowa, United States, at the age of 76, and was buried in Rippey, Greene, Iowa, United States.