Leland Oscar Johnson

Leland was born in Ormsby, Minnesota to Oscar and Gladys Franke Johnson. He was the second of their six children. In 1943, the family moved to Vanport, Oregon so his father could begin work at the Kaiser Shipyards. Leland attended elementary and freshman year of high school in Vanport. On May 30,1948, a flood destroyed Vanport City and the family was forced to live in temporary housing for many months. They located a new residence in north Portland and Leland enrolled in Roosevelt High School as a sophomore. He was proudly elected school student body president his senior year. Following high school, Leland began work at Timber Structures. He later joined the accounting Department at Consolidated Freightways. Leland served in various roles with the Company, including Systems Analyst and Manager of the Payroll, Taxes and Mileage Department. In 1977, he purchased a small trucking company with less than 20 employees based at a gas station in Salem, OR. Leland moved the operation to PDX. The company was Jet Airfreight. Forty Two years later, Jet Expedited Transport employs 83 people, at 4 locations along the west coast and is an industry leader in on time scheduled service. In 1952, Leland married his high school sweetheart, Evelyn Fox. They had two children, Craig and Kim, and raised their happy family in north Portland. He was the best husband and father anyone could ever hope for. In 1951, Leland enlisted in the Army National Guard. He retired as a Major after 20 years of service. Leland enjoyed traveling and was lucky enough to visit Australia. Europe, France, Norway, the U.K., and several of the states. His favorite destination was Hawaii, where he loved to visit Pearl Harbor, attend Don Ho concerts and stay at the Royal Hawaiian (at his daughter’s urging). Leland was as near to perfect as a person could be. He was generous, intelligent, charismatic and kind. He loved people and was a great role model. Leland made the most of each day and lived a wonderful life. Leland is survived by his son Craig (Michelle), daughter Kim (Dave Sherrill); grandsons, Jacob (Britt), Andrew (Audrey) and David; granddaughters, Jordanne (Aaron Carlson) and Whitney (Aaron); six great grandchildren; brother, Bobby Johnson; sisters, Geraldine (Bill Mosby) and Karen Tennyson; brother-in-law, Bob Fox (Pat) and sister-in-law, Francine Johnson; and many wonderful nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Dr. James C. Johnson and Darryl Johnson; sister-in-law’s, Leone Costa, Janie Johnson and Jan Johnson; brother-in-law, Joe Costa. A memorial service will be held at 12:00 p.m., November 9, 2019 at the Tualatin Country Club, 9145 SW Tualatin Rd., Tualatin, OR.