Best-sellling author and Women of Faith speaker emeritus Barbara Johnson, 79, died Monday in Palm Springs, Calif., of cancer. Diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001, she valiantly fought central nervous system lymphoma for six years, as well as adult onset diabetes.

Barbara's story is recounted in her 18 books that have sold more than 5 million copies. Titles such as Living Somewhere Between Estrogen and Death (Thomas Nelson) and the "Humor Me" series (Thomas Nelson) became best-sellers in the Christian retail market.

Known as "The Geranium Lady" after her book Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy! (Thomas Nelson), Johnson and her husband, Bill, served hurting families through their nonprofit Spatula Ministries, started "to peel parents off the ceiling with a spatula of love."

Seeing Johnson as a "dear friend" more than author, Thomas Nelson Senior Vice President and Group Publisher David Moberg said: "Barbara Johnson has been a study in publishing since she came to Word in 1990. From the beginning with Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy, we rejected every unconventional title she brought to us only to later acquiesce and let her have her way. We quickly discovered she knew exactly what she was talking about. Every book went on to hit the best-sellers list with Geranium now selling more than 1 million copies."

Barbara was one of the founding members of Women of Faith. She no longer traveled with the tour after her cancer diagnosis but remained involved as speaker emeritus.

In 2005, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association awarded Johnson the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

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