When Mary Isabella Johnson was born on 9 January 1903, in Blackfoot, Bingham, Idaho, United States, her father, William Russell Johnson, was 29 and her mother, Alice Staples, was 23. She married Austin Lorraine Nelson on 1 August 1928, in Vale, Malheur, Oregon, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. She died on 7 September 1983, in Lake Jackson, Brazoria, Texas, United States, at the age of 80, and was buried in Clute, Brazoria, Texas, United States.