Johanna was a daughter of Jacob Turksma and Susanna de Vries. Her father passed away on 24 March 1929 in Utrecht, when she was only 2 years old. On 6 April 1932, her mother remarried in Utrecht the widower of Saartje Rosenbaum, Abraham From.

Johanna lived with her mother and stepfather. She had a 3-year elder brother Maurits Levie, who was killed in Auschwitz.

Het Utrechts Archief.