Wayne Johnson
Wayne was born August 6, 1936, to Helge and Beryl (Haney) Johnson at home in Dudley township near Leonard, MN. Wayne grew up on a small farm North of Shevlin, MN along with his parents and one sister, Rachel. He attended grade school at the little country school in Dudley township where he met many friends, along with his sweetheart, Dorothy (Sundbom) Johnson. He then attended Bagley High School and graduated in 1955. On June 9th of the following year, the sweethearts were married. Wayne and Dorothy were married for 69 years. Most of their married life, they lived on a small farm north of Shevlin, until their move to Bagley in 2018. His last few years have been spent at Cornerstone Nursing and Rehab Center, where he received so much loving care, until his passing on January 1st.
Wayne was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend to all who knew him. He always had a smile and a hug for everyone. Wayne was a skilled carpenter and worked his whole life in carpentry and construction. He worked on the iron range in his early years, also in North Dakota, and for Red Lake Builders for many years, along with other smaller construction companies in MN. Before he retired, he worked at TEAM industries in Bagley, MN. Wayne loved to trap, hunt, and fish throughout his life. He also enjoyed his small hobby farm. One of his greatest joys was playing guitar and singing. He had many hours of volunteer work with his music and was named volunteer of the year as well as Senior Citizen of the year for Clearwater County years ago. His greatest love, however, was reading his bible and his personal relationship with the lord, and spending time with family.
Wayne and Dorothy raised four children (Jayne, Larry, Ruth and Karen). After the loss of their oldest daughter in 1993, they raised their two oldest grandchildren Orion and Levi Gray. He and Dorothy had traveled through many of the states in the U.S. and enjoyed some international traveling as well.
Wayne lived a full life.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy (Sundbom) Johnson, parents, Helge and Beryl (Haney) Johnson, a daughter Jayne Johnson Gray, a sister Rachel Lehman, niece Ginetta (Larson) Bergeson, nephew Keith Larson, and recent, brother-in-law, George Larson.
He is survived by a son, Larry (Karen) Johnson of Bagley, MN; daughter Ruth (Bruce) Anspach of Bemidji, MN; daughter, Karen (Scott) Stish of Solway, MN. Grandchildren, Orion (Janelle) Gray of Roseville, MN; Levi and (Leah) Gray of Bagley, MN; Casey (Dan) Kurth of Flagstaff, AZ; Alex (Ashley) Gray, of Duluth, MN; Gabriel Johnson, of Detroit Lakes, MN; Jessie (Joe) Allen of Niceville, FL; Marshall (Bridget) Johnson of Duluth, MN; Sam (Fiancé Claire) Stish of Bagley, MN; Anna Stish of Solway, MN; Great grandchildren, Dylan Gray of Bagley, MN; William Gray of Bagley, MN; Ethan Gray of Bagley, MN; Margaret Johnson of Duluth, MN.